Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo struck on either side of halftime as Barcelona edged Albacete 2-1 on Tuesday to book a place in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
The record 32-time winners were stretched to the limit by their second-division hosts in a tense quarterfinal, weeks after Albacete stunned Real Madrid in the previous round.
Yamal broke the deadlock moments before the interval, and Araujo doubled the lead shortly after the restart with a headed finish on his first start since returning from a monthlong mental health break late last year.
Barcelona wobbled late as Albacete pressed hard, carving out a series of chances before Javi Moreno nodded home with three minutes remaining to give Hansi Flick’s side a scare. Barcelona held on.
“The last few minutes, it’s normal. They got a goal, the cup is like this,” Araujo told Barcelona’s media channel.
“I’m very happy to start again. It was an important step. A hug to the coach, he helped me a lot.”
Barcelona spurned several good chances, just as it did in its La Liga win over Elche on Saturday.
“It was a tough match at the end. It was very hard,” Flick said. “We could have made it much easier for ourselves. We missed many chances, but I think we deserved to win.
“I’m happy, proud of the team, and we’re in the semifinals. That’s the most important thing.”
Barcelona controlled the first half but struggled to break down Albacete’s resistance.
The hosts defended deep and limited space after the opening minutes, forcing Flick’s side to be patient in possession.
Spanish champions Barcelona’s brightest player was again teenage winger Yamal, who finally made the breakthrough in the 39th minute.
Frenkie de Jong’s pass bobbled into Yamal’s path, and the 18-year-old curled his finish into the corner.
At the other end, Antonio Puertas got in behind Barcelona’s defense but took a heavy touch, allowing goalkeeper Joan Garcia to collect.
In a comical moment before halftime, Garcia accidentally conceded a corner while walking off the pitch with the ball as he stopped to pat Araujo on the head.
Dani Olmo should have doubled Barcelona’s lead early in the second half, but his effort was blocked from close range.
Puertas later fired a volley that deflected off De Jong and drifted just over Garcia’s goal as Albacete threatened sporadically.
Araujo headed in from a corner to extend Barcelona’s lead, and the visitors looked set to cruise before late resistance from Albacete changed the tone.
Jefte Betancor, who scored the winner against Real Madrid, cut inside Araujo and fired narrowly wide.
Puertas thought he had pulled one back with seven minutes remaining, but the goal was ruled out for offside earlier in the move.
Albacete finally scored in the 87th minute when Moreno’s powerful header from Jose Lazo’s free kick flew past Garcia, but the hosts could not find an equalizer to force extra time.
Gerard Martin headed Fran Gamez’s effort off the line in stoppage time as Barcelona survived a nervy finish to advance.
In the other quarterfinals, Valencia host Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad visit Alaves on Wednesday, while Atletico Madrid travel to face Real Betis on Thursday.
