Barça takes the Cup seriously

FC Barcelona beat Barbastro (0-4) this Saturday to advance to the round of 16 in the Copa del Rey, a good test with which to recover the game, the intensity and the goals lost in the last two months of 2024, without get carried away before the whole of the Second Federation.

Hansi Flick’s team returned with renewed energy from the Christmas break and in their first game of 2025 they put into practice the version they need to recover their best level. In addition, Robert Lewandowski scored a double to break his drought and Ronald Araujo returned to play six months later with optimal sensations.

Before the Pole, also with a header, Eric García opened the scoring in the 21st minute and the striker made it 3-0 in the first minute of the second half. Barbastro did not see the option of hurting Barça, although they tried to make them play from the outside. However, based on crosses and headers, the culé team resolved the match very soon.

The state of the grass did not give rise to flourishes, nor to much precision from below, and Barbastro was also intense at cutting lines. However, the wing rises of Koundé and Gerard Martín gave finishing options until Eric García made it 0-1, after a serious warning from Araujo. The rain of crosses brought the score to 0-2 at half an hour, with some luck, from Lewandowski.

The Pole became strong among the local centre-backs, as did Eric García, Pedri and De Jong in the midfield. Barbastro had one shot at the rival goal throughout the first half so that Szczesny touched the ball with his hands in his Barça debut. For the second half, with a rest for the Canarian, Barça showed their intention of not relaxing with the 3-0 lead instantly.

A good play with the first touch that Lewandowski finished off, recovering his power and punch as a center forward, which his team had been needing. Shortly after, local Jaime Ara gave a scare when he fell into a head-to-head collision with Iñigo Martínez, for which he had to be evacuated on a stretcher already conscious.

Barbastro’s cup challenge against a Barça team that suffered more last year when they also faced their rival from Huesca began to feel very long. Flick’s team did not lower the intensity at any time and pressed the pressure like Pablo Torre at 0-4 after a mistake in the form of a gift from goalkeeper Arnau Fàbrega.

The entry of Ansu Fati could also have meant more goals, while the culé coach brought in youth players like Sergi Domínguez and Toni Fernández, perhaps starting to think about life without Dani Olmo. Despite the soap opera with its registration or after losing the leadership of the League in the last minute of 2024 against Atlético de Madrid, Barça returned strongly, now looking to the Super Cup.

TECHNICAL SHEET:

–RESULT: BARBASTRO, 0 – FC BARCELONA, 4. (0-2, at halftime).

–ALIGNMENTS:

BARBASTRO: Arnau (Méndez, min.86); Bautista, Israel, Arroyo, Santigosa, Barrera; Javito (Castillo, min.78), Jaime Ara (Marc Prat, min.55), El Haddadi (Gastón Iñigo, min.55), Albín and Guille Alonso (Oteo, min.79).

FC BARCELONA: Szczesny; Kounde (Sergi Domínguez, min.62), Araujo, Iñigo Martínez, Gerard Martín; De Jong, Eric García; Fermín, Pedri (Gavi, rest), Pablo Torre (Toni Fernández, min.81); y Lewandowski (Ansu Fati, min.62).

–GOALS:

0 – 1, min.21, Eric García.

0 – 2, min.31, Lewandowski.

0 – 3, min.47, Lewandowski.

0 – 4, min.56, Pablo Torre.

–REFEREE: Díaz de Mera (C. Castilla-La Mancha). Alonso was cautioned (min.43) by Barbastro. And Lewandowski (min.51) at Barça.

–STADIUM: Barbastro Municipal Sports Field.