Barcelona avoided an upset in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, running out 2-0 winners over CD Guadalajara of the Spanish third-tier to progress to the last 16.
Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford found the net in the last quarter of an hour as the competition holders saw off their lower league opponents.
The Catalan club, the most successful side in the history of the cup, are still on course for a 33rd triumph, having beaten Real Madrid in last season’s final.
However, the task was by no means a straightforward one against their semi-professional hosts.
Kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes to allow fans to safely enter Estadio Pedro Escartin. But straight from the off, the LaLiga side predictably had the majority of possession against their third-tier hosts.
But despite Barca’s dominance, the first half ended goalless, with Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez both going close to breaking the deadlock.
Rashford then squandered a couple of good chances for Hansi Flick’s men before Christensen eventually breached the Guadalajara defence, heading home from a corner with 15 minutes remaining.
It was a big sigh of relief for Barca fans. Fermin then had a goal disallowed before Rashford sealed the win with just 60 seconds of the 90 left to play, rounding the goalkeeper following a sublime pass from Yamal to wrap up the game.
