Barcelona secured a 2-0 victory over third-tier CD Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey, advancing to the last 16. Goals from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford came late in the match. The LaLiga leaders avoided an upset against their semi-professional hosts.
Barcelona progressed to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 2-0 win over CD Guadalajara on Tuesday at Estadio Pedro Escartin. The kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes to allow fans to enter safely.
The first half ended goalless despite Barcelona's dominance in possession. Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez came close to scoring for the visitors, but CD Guadalajara held firm.
In the second half, Marcus Rashford missed a couple of good chances before Andreas Christensen broke the deadlock. With 15 minutes remaining, Christensen headed home from a corner to give Barcelona the lead.
Fermin Lopez had a goal disallowed later, but Rashford sealed the victory in the final moments. Assisted by a sublime pass from Yamal, Rashford rounded the goalkeeper and scored with 60 seconds left on the clock.
As the competition holders, Barcelona are aiming for a 33rd Copa del Rey triumph after beating Real Madrid in last season's final. The Catalan club, currently leading LaLiga, fielded a much-changed team but showed their quality against the third-tier side, who sit in the relegation zone with four wins from 16 league games this season.