Barcelona booked their place in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with a disciplined 2-0 victory over Racing Santander on Thursday, overcoming a spirited challenge from the second-tier leaders at El Sardinero Stadium.
Determined to avoid a shock exit from Real Madrid, which had been stunned by lower-league Albacete the day before, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick named a near-full-strength squad for the round-of-16 clash—and his decision ultimately paid off.
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Tight First Half, Missed Chances at Both Ends
The match started at a close pace, but at the 66th minute, Barcelona broke the tie with Ferran Torres. Torres timed his running to precisely avoid the offside trap to run onto a delivered through ball, beat the goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta, and placed the ball into an open net.
Racing Santander continued their pursuit of an equalizer and narrowly missed in the stoppage time. Substitute Manex Lozano had a golden chance to score in a one-on-one situation on a counterattack, but instead of passing the ball to an unmarked teammate, he decided to shoot.
Barcelo penalized the miss on the spot. In their second attack, a very low cross by Raphinha fell to the feet of teenage goal scorer Lamine Yamal, who calmly slipped it in to secure the victory and guide the Blaugrana towards the last eight.
Torres Breaks the Deadlock
The goal was eventually scored in the 66th minute. Ferran Torres caught the offside trap at the right moment and collected an accurate through ball. The forward coolly rounded Racing goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta and fed into an unguarded net to give Barcelona a vital lead.
Racing did not wish to give up but instead kept pushing forward, keeping the game alive. One of the best saves came in the 80th minute when Ezkieta saved Fermin Lopez and replaced Robert Lewandowski up close, ensuring that they did not further increase the lead.
Racing Show Resistance, Barca Hold Firm
Barcelona dominated the early stages but found Racing a stubborn and well-organized opponent. Dani Olmo missed a clear chance early on, while Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia was forced to make a sharp save to deny Camara Suleiman in the first half.
After Torres’ opener, Racing refused to surrender. Ezquieta made several excellent saves late in the match and kept his team’s hopes alive by keeping out efforts from Fermín López and substitute Robert Lewandowski in the 80th minute.
The hosts thought they had equalized twice in the final moments, but both goals were ruled out for offside, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.
Barcelona March On
The win sees Barcelona join Athletic Bilbao, Alaves, Albacete, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and Valencia as quarterfinalists in the competition. The Spanish FA will do the draw of the quarter-final on Monday, and matches will be held between February 3 and 5.
Having won the Supercopa de Europa over Real Madrid, Barcelona continued winning their way and demonstrated the necessary calmness to survive this complicated knockout game and stay one step closer to the next Copa del Rey to add to their long list of accomplishments.