Barca is still chasing all three titles after a win in the cup

It's nearly half of the season but Barcelona is still on track to win all three trophies: La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. The pressure was on for Hansi Flick's men not only because they played in Santander, against a team which is currently La Liga 2 leader, but also due to the fact that the 17th placed Albacete from the same league sensationally defeated Real Madrid on Wednesday 3-2 and knock them out. And the Catalans replied with a 2-0 win, but it was hard battle. Hansi Flick didn't underestimate his opponent: Olmo, Yamal, Cubarsi, Kounde and Torres all played, along with Garcia on the goal. And it worked as Spain's top scorer Ferran Torres resolved the stalemate after 60 minutes with a winning goal, while goalkeeper Garcia prevented extra time with a stunning save in the 94th minute. In the next attack, Yamal scored for the final result.

Flick was so aware of Rasing's danger that he made changes as soon as his men scored, but he didn't bring in no youngsters, on the contrary. Players like Lewandowski, Fermin and Pedri came in to save the lead, and they managed to do it, but it was a close call. Two goals for Rasing were overturned near the injury time, and as much as they protested, the replay showed that in both cases there was an offside. Santander fought bravely, but Barca was better.

Santander confused their opponent with high pressing in the early stages of the match, had several promising situations, but lacked finishing. Lamine Yamal was constantly double-teamed, his space to operate was reduced. A low defensive block with seven, sometimes even eight players in their own penalty area was a real puzzle for Flick’s team. Who knows how the match would have developed if Giorgi Guliashvili had been more precise at the end of the first half. He found himself alone at 11 meters, but headed the ball high over the goal. Had he been more accurate then, we would have seen even more madness. Yes, Barca had much more possession, as expected, but they failed to create much.

Racing’s tactical preparation for this match was excellent. They kept poking at the big favorite and made them suffer, but in the end came away empty-handed. They stood their ground and played at the upper limit of their abilities, but against the skill and composure of Ferran Torres and Yamal they were powerless — as have been much stronger opponents than them.

SPAIN COPA DEL REY - ROUND OF 16

Tuesday

Cultural Leonesa - Athletic Bilbao 3-4 a.e.t. (3-3)

/Calero 16,27, Sobrino 41 pen - Guruzeta 26,38, Sancet 45+3 pen, Gomez 104 pen/

La Coruna - Atletico Madrid 0-1 (0-0)

/Griezmann 51/

Sociedad - Osasuna 4-3 on pen (2-2)

/Turrientes 75, Zubeldia 90+2 - Moncayola 4, Oyarzabal 17 og/

Wednesday

Alaves - Rayo Vallecano 2-0 (0-0)

/Martinez 49, Vicente 89/

Albacete - Real Madrid 3-2 (1-1)

/Villar 42, Betancor 82, 90+4 - Mastantuono 45+3, Garcia 90+1/

Betis - Elche 2-1 (0-0)

/Avila 68, 80 - Petrot 58/

Thursday

Burgos - Valencia 0-2 (0-1)

/Iranzo 10, Sadik 50/

Santander - Barcelona 0-2 (0-0)

/Torres 66, Yamal 90+5/