Copa del Rey: Barça and four other clubs already through to the round of 16
After the opening round of round-of-32 matches played on Tuesday, FC Barcelona, Deportivo, Elche, Real Sociedad and Valencia secured their place in the next round of the Copa del Rey.
Andreas Christensen@Barça Blaugranas
Five teams have already sealed their qualification for the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey following the opening round of round-of-32 matches played on Tuesday. FC Barcelona, Deportivo, Elche, Real Sociedad and Valencia thus booked their tickets for the next stage.
Among those qualified, FC Barcelona did their job by winning on CD Guadalajara’s pitch (2-0), at the Pedro Escartín stadium. Solid and focused, the Blaugrana long found themselves thwarted by the resistance of a stubborn opponent determined to unsettle the La Liga champions.
It took until the second half for Barça to make the difference. Andreas Christensen first opened the scoring before Marcus Rashford sealed the Catalan victory, confirming the technical and collective superiority of Xavi Hernández’s men against a valiant but offensively limited side.
The other round-of-32 matches continue on Wednesday. The teams still in contention will in turn try to join the first five qualifiers in the round of 16, as the Copa del Rey gradually moves into its decisive phase, a stage prone to surprises as well as confirmations.