January 18, (THEWILL) – Barcelona faced an early scare but ultimately came from behind to defeat third-tier side Unionistas de Salamanca 3-1 on Thursday and book their place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Unionistas shocked the La Liga side by taking a surprise 1-0 first-half lead through Alvaro Gomez’s volley. However, Barcelona quickly responded through Ferran Torres’ equaliser in time before the break.
The second half saw Barcelona take control as they brought on the cavalry of superstars like Robert Lewandowski and Pedri. Defender Jules Kounde put Barcelona ahead in the 69th minute with a thunderous 25-yard strike. Just four minutes later, 18-year-old fullback, Alejandro Balde, sealed the comeback and Barcelona’s passage with another impressive distance goal.
While 31-time Copa del Rey winners Barcelona were expected to advance, Unionistas provided tense moments for La Blaugrana. Mario Losada and Marc Guiu challenged Barcelona’s defence and forced saves out of backup keeper Inaki Pena. Ultimately, Barcelona’s world-class talents were too much for the brave hosts.
The result sees Barcelona into the quarter-finals as they continue their quest to claim this trophy. Next up is a return to La Liga action over the weekend against Getafe as they look to keep their title defence struggle going.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
