Lamine Yamal, Barcelona Stay Hot As Blaugrana Reach Copa Del Rey Semifinals

Barcelona secured safe passage through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 win over Segunda División outfit Albacete on Tuesday. The Catalan giants were made to wait until the 39th minute before Lamine Yamal opened the scoring, and Ronald Araujo later netted the second of the night, though Javi Moreno’s strike set up a nervy ending to the encounter. Confident from a three-game winning run, Barcelona were heavy favorites as they faced Real Madrid’s conquerors from the previous round. However, they endured early frustration against Albacete as they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, with Marcus Rashford placing wide from their best chance. They eventually had Yamal to thank for breaking the deadlock. Barcelona won the ball high up the pitch, Frenkie de Jong passed to Yamal and the Spain international bent an effort into the far corner to make it 1-0 with his fifth goal in his last six games. The floodgates didn’t exactly open, but Araujo effectively ended Albacete’s hopes of an unlikely comeback when he headed a powerful effort into the back of the net from Rashford’s corner. Moreno did pull one back late on and the hosts pushed for a dramatic equalizer, but thankfully for Barça, it didn’t arrive. GOAL rates Barcelona’s players from Estadio Carlos Belmonte… Goalkeeper & Defense Joan Garcia (5/10): The goalkeeper went through most of the evening without having much to do, but had his clean sheet spoiled in a dramatic finale. João Cancelo (4/10): Produced some dangerous crosses in the attacking third but was pretty naive in defense, picking up a booking in the 15th minute and risking his side going down to 10 players with further infringements. Flick sensed the danger and substituted him at half-time. Ronald Araujo (8/10): Led the backline well as captain for the night and scored the goal that proved to be the winner come full-time. Eric Garcia (7/10): Recalled to the line-up and did his chances of more regular games little harm with a composed performance. Gerard Martin (7/10): Scampered up and down the left-hand side, offering width in attack and making some important interventions at the back. Midfield Frenkie de Jong (8/10): Pivotal in the first goal, sensing the chance to press and then rolling the ball for Yamal to finish. Always a second or two ahead of the Albacete players. Marc Bernal (6/10): Was combative in the middle of the park but looked a little rusty at points. Dani Olmo (7/10): Wasn’t shy at taking a pop at goal, ending the game with six shots, three of which were on target. Nice and smooth on the ball and picked out some good passes to bring his teammates into play. Attack Lamine Yamal (9/10): Produced a wonderful finish from De Jong’s pass to make it 1-0. Always looked capable of coming up with some magic whenever he got the ball, producing some beautiful passes to set up his team-mates. Robert Lewandowski (5/10): Frustratingly struggled to get into the game and saw his only shot of the night saved. Marcus Rashford (7/10): Probably should have done better with Barcelona’s first big chance of the game. However, the loanee pressed well in the build-up to the first goal and then bagged an assist for Araujo’s header. Subs & Manager Pau Cubarsí (6/10): Was comfortable for most of the second half and then helped Barcelona withstand a late period of pressure. Fermín López (7/10): Created a couple of chances and was lively during his cameo. Marc Casado (5/10): A little off the pace as he made four fouls off the bench. Ferran Torres (6/10): Thought he had bagged a third for his side, only to see his effort disallowed by VAR. Jules Koundé (6/10): Came on the final 15 minutes or so and helped Barcelona claim the win, even if the ending was more uncomfortable than it should have been. Hansi Flick (6/10): Showed the competition plenty of respect by deploying a strong starting XI, though he’ll undoubtedly be disappointed that his side couldn’t pick up a victory by a heavier margin.