Second-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal carried Barcelona to a gritty 2-0 win over second-tier leaders Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, sealing a place in the quarterfinals.
After a tense, evenly matched contest, the breakthrough came in the 66th minute when Torres beat the offside trap with a perfectly timed run, collected a through ball and calmly rounded goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta before rolling the ball into an empty net.
Racing came agonizingly close to equalizing in stoppage time, but Manex Lozano squandered a golden chance from close range. Barcelona made them pay moments later, with Yamal finishing a swift counterattack to put the result beyond doubt.
Barcelona joined Athletic Bilbao, Alaves, Albacete, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Valencia in the last eight. The Spanish soccer federation will conduct the quarterfinal draw on Monday, with ties scheduled for Feb. 3-5.
Determined to avoid a similar fate to Real Madrid, who were stunned by lower-league Albacete on Wednesday, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick fielded a near full-strength lineup at El Sardinero Stadium.
The visitors dominated possession early but found Racing to be resolute opponents. Dani Olmo missed a golden opportunity, while Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia reacted smartly to deny Camara Suleiman in a lively opening half.
After Torres opened the scoring, Ezkieta made successive superb saves late on, denying Fermin Lopez and substitute Robert Lewandowski from close range in the 80th minute to keep Racing’s hopes alive.
The hosts thought they had equalized twice in the closing moments, only for both goals to be ruled out for offside.
Lozano had another clear chance to level on a counterattack but opted to shoot from close range rather than pass to an unmarked teammate, allowing Garcia to make the save.
Barcelona punished the miss almost immediately. Raphinha’s low cross found Yamal, who slotted home to seal the win and book Barcelona’s place in the quarterfinals.
