Racing 0-2 Barcelona: Two second-half goals end the contest but it hung in the balance for much of the night
Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal were on target as Barcelona saw through tough opposition from Racing Santander and reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Torres hit the opener with 66 minutes played, after Barcelona went on a counter attack and the forward rounded the goalkeeper before passing into an empty goal. Yamal sealed the victory in stoppage time, converting at the back post from Raphinha’s cross, when Racing had been seeking an equaliser to face the game into extra time.
Perhaps buoyed by Albacete’s victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday night, Racing, who are top of the second division in Spain, were determined to cause an upset against the La Liga leaders. They scored twice but saw both ruled out for offside, before Manex Lozano was denied late on by an excellent save from Joan Garcia, Hansi Flick in the dugout no doubt gleeful he had chosen to start the 24-year-old ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen or Wojciech Szczesny.
Barcelona threw away some golden chances of their own. Marcus Rashford came close twice, denied an opportunity by Racing goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta in the first half before blowing another in the second half. Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Robert Lewandowski also had good moments before and after Torres’ opener, before Yamal ended the tie deep in injury time.
