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Albacete is impressive King’s Cup The run ended on Wednesday night Barcelona Booked their place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 win at Estadio Carlos Belmonte.
The host, who had already eliminated both of them Real Madrid And while several top-flight sides earlier in the competition reached the quarter-finals with their usual discipline and grit, Barcelona took over in the opening stages without much room to spare.
Albacete limited central penetration by sitting deep in a compact shape and forced Barcelona to move the ball into wide areas. Despite controlling more than 70 percent of possession in the first half, the visitors struggled to convert that control into clear-cut chances.
Barcelona’s first meaningful starts came from Marcus Rashford and Lamin Yamal, although both were given limited opportunities by Albacete’s defensive organization.
Rashford dragged a clear chance wide after being slipped in by Dani Olmo, while Robert Lewandowski remained largely uninvolved, registering few touches before the break.
Albacete, meanwhile, threatened sporadically on the counter, with Puertas testing John Garcia and forcing Ronald Araujo into a key recovery.
The deadlock was broken in the 39th minute by a moment of quality from Yamal. Barcelona gained possession high up the pitch, and Frankie de Jong’s pass found the winger on the right edge of the box. Yamal took a first-time shot, curling a left-footed effort past Raul Lizoin into the far corner.
Albacete showed more intent after the interval, sending additional numbers forward and increasing the tempo of their press.
Their best spell at the start of the second half included a blocked effort from Puertas and a series of long throws that unsettled Barcelona’s back line, although clear-cut chances remained limited.
Barcelona regained control in the 56th minute with a second goal that looked set to settle the tie. Rashford delivered a corner from the left, and Araujo rose unchallenged to power a header past Lizoin from close range.
With a two-goal opportunity, Barcelona focused on managing the game, slowing down the tempo and maintaining possession.
They came close to extending the lead on several occasions, when Ferran Torres was denied by Lizoin and Vallejo and produced a decisive block to deny a second try. Torres thought he had added a third goal in the 90th minute, reacting quickly to a low cross, but VAR ruled out the goal for offside.
The decision kept Albacete in the contest, and they took full advantage two minutes earlier when they pulled a goal back.
Jose Carlos Lazo delivered a precise free-kick into the box, and centre-back Javi Moreno made it 2-1 with a firm header into the corner. The goal lifted the home crowd and injected urgency into the final minutes.
Albacete almost produced an extraordinary equalizer in stoppage time. Fran Gamez controlled the ball at the back post and tried on John Garcia, but Martin tracked back and deflected the ball wide with a head clearance off the line. It proved to be the ultimate pivotal moment of the match.
