Barcelona survived a second-half onslaught from third-division side CF Intercity to secure a passage through to the Round of 16 of Copa del Rey, courtesy of a 4-3 win in Alicante.
Barcelona took the lead on the night on three separate occasions through Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele, and Raphinha, but saw it get pegged back each time as former La Masia man Oriol Soldevila scored a fine hat-trick for the home team.
However, an extra-time strike from Ansu Fati helped Barça bag a win and avoid a disastrous outcome against a team from the third tier of Spanish football.
Speaking after the game, manager Xavi Hernandez claimed that he was satisfied with the performance despite how the match had ended, but insisted that the team must learn from their mistakes.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Araujo, who made his first appearance in over three months, stated that the Copa del Rey is not an easy tournament and Barça must improve and get better by learning from the experience.
“The Cup is not easy, it is like that, I remember the cup we won that we went to extra time in almost all the games, we have to learn from this,” the Uruguayan international said.
“Results like this give you the magic of the Cup. Several top-flight teams were eliminated,” he added later.
Given that he was returning to on-field action for the first time since September, Araujo revealed that he and the manager had already discussed about how long he would play.
“My substitution was agreed before the game, 45 minutes or 60 maximum,” he said.
On his return, Araujo added: “Happy to be back. I’m sad that I didn’t get to play in the World Cup, which is what I wanted most.”
Having opened the scoring on the night, Araujo said: “I’m happy to be back and to score my first goal of the season. I hope there will be more goals.”
Looking forward to the upcoming match against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, he said: “We have a final on Sunday, against Atletico Madrid.”
It was a special occasion for Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena, who was registered as a first-team player on Tuesday, following which he made his Copa del Rey debut in Alicante, where he was born.
Speaking after the match, the 23-year-old said: “I’m glad that Xavi counts on me.”
“I’m happy to qualify for the next round and happy to become a first-team player. My whole family was here, in the stands.”
On the performance, the Spaniard said: “Today we lost control and gave them a lot of space, they can always make things difficult for you.”
Pablo Torre received just his second start as a Barcelona player and the youngster made the most of his opportunity, setting Araujo up for the first goal and putting up an impressive display on the whole.
Following the match, the summer arrival said: “Happy with the win, happy with the minutes and happy with the coach’s confidence.”
Talking about the challenge posed by Intercity, Torre added: “The match was difficult because when the opponent knows that they are playing against Barça, they have additional motivation. I congratulate them.”
“We will continue to work and we are happy to qualify,” the youngster signed off.