Barcelona beats Albacete and qualifies for the Copa del Rey semifinals

Barcelona has secured qualification for the Copa del Rey semifinals after a 2-1 away win over Albacete.

From the opening minutes, the Catalans imposed their tempo, creating clear scoring chances and keeping the home defense under pressure.

Marcus Rashford issued an early warning with a dangerous shot, while the game became more physical, with several yellow cards and stoppages due to injuries.

The deadlock was broken in the 39th minute, when Lamine Yamal finished off a brilliant move built with Frenkie de Jong, calmly scoring from outside the box to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Barcelona increased the pressure and managed to score twice more.

In the 56th minute, Ronald Araujo scored the second goal (2-0) with a header from a corner taken by Rashford, making a comeback for Albacete almost impossible.

The home side tried to respond, with Jefte Betancor creating danger on several occasions and even scoring a goal that was ruled out for offside in the 84th minute.

The home side's efforts were rewarded in the 87th minute, when Javi Moreno managed to score to make it 2-1, and that was all they could do.

Barcelona managed its lead well, thereby securing its progression in the Copa del Rey.