Barcelona avoid shock Copa del Rey exit by beating Unionistas de Salamanca

Barcelona is through to the quarterfinals of the Copa Del Rey after defeating Unionistas de Salamanca. The win was not as comfortable as the scoreline may suggest as Barcelona trailed in this game one nil after a 31st minute goal from Unionistas right midfielder Alvaro Gomez. It was a well taken volley from the Spaniard and had Unionistas fans dreaming.

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Dreams got crushed however as Ferran Torres equalized just before halftime with a calm and collected finish. It was an excellent assist from Joao Felix who laid it on a platter for the Spaniard. Barcelona would continue to struggle to break down Unionistas until they got a goal from an unusual place. Defender Jules Kounde broke the deadlock with a beautiful strike and exactly what Barcelona needed to break down Unionistas defense. When in doubt just shoot, and Jules Kounde executed it to perfection.

Barcelona would seal the game a few minutes later through another goal from the defense, as this time the young flying fullback Alex Balde came through. It was a forward’s finish from the fullback as he blasted the ball into the roof of the net and that’s a goal that the youngster can tell the grandkids about in the future.

Barcelona would see out the game from there, but questions do have to be raised about the clubs’ defensive struggles and the inability to keep a clean sheet. Since the beginning of December, the club has only kept two clean sheets. Although Unionistas only scored one goal, they were knocking on the door a few times to score a couple more goals including in the 90th minute when they forced an excellent save out of Inaki Pena. If Barca have any ambitions to win a trophy this season the defensive issues need to be minimized, and the club will have to find a solution whether that’s externally or internally.

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Xavi’s thoughts on the performance in the match

Xavi had this to say after the match “Sometimes we play well and sometimes we don’t, and this makes me feel desperate. That’s why I always say we are a team under construction.”