Barca served up another embarrassment for their fans. They travelled to third-tier team Linares Deportivo in the Spanish Cup and were made to chase a first-half deficit to progress into the last 16. Although Barca looked comfortable by the final whistle, they were schooled for over an hour by a third division team Linares Deportivo.Around 10,000 people crammed into the tiny Estadio de Linarejos stadium to see their team face off against one of the biggest clubs in the world and, although they were eliminated from the competitions, were given a show that they’ll never forget.El gol de Hugo Díaz con el que Linares está venciendo a #Barcelona en partido de la #CopaDelRey.pic.twitter.com/P3zkAxpwPS— Ritual Fútbol (@ritual_futbol) January 5, 2022 Barca turned the game around thanks to second-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Jutgla to spare some Catalan blushes – but not all of them.To make Barcelona’s woe into context, it’s worth noticing that Barcelona B, the club’s reserve side, came to this very ground to face Linares in a league fixture – and won. Just how could Xavi’s team allow themselves such a woeful display is a mystery.Francisco Carnicer delivered a perfect cross into the centre of Barcelona’s area and there was attacker Hugo Diaz to nip in front of Oscar Mingueza and head past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. The stands of Estadio de Linarejos erupted!#CopaDelRey Linares 1-1 Barcelona | GOAL! Dembele. pic.twitter.com/mxEJZai33Y— ꜰᴀꜱᴛ ɢᴏᴀʟꜱ (@IFAST29) January 5, 2022 Barcelona lacked the intensity and urgency needed to win against any team – not least against a fired-up team from a little town that was given a chance to shine against a famous opponent. Not even the inclusion of Dani Alves, the club legend who returned for his second spell with the Blaugrana could help Barca show that there is life in them.Xavi knows how important it is to maintain the club’s reputation during whatever kind of hardship the organization is going through and he must have said a thing or two to his players.After the break, Barca finally started to attack and tighten the grip on the home players who inevitably started to run out of steam. After all, the intensity of football they are used to is much lower than that of La Liga. As the match went on, the sheer quality of the visiting team started to show.It was contract rebel Ousmane Dembele who finally scored for the struggling Catalan giants, curling in a lovely left-footed effort from the edge of the box. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from the bench as the gears on Barca’s rusty machine started to turn.the game winner pic.twitter.com/2vzH0OA3sG— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 5, 2022 Young attacker Ferran Jutgla completed with the comeback just a few minutes later to break the hearts of brave Linares. And in the end, Barca’s first team also won 2-1 against the blue-whites of Linares. We’re sure that there is some kind of a joke hidden in that fact. But we’re also sure that Xavi won’t find it funny at all.COPA DEL REYRound of 32TuesdayPonferradina – Espanyol 1-1 (0-1) Espanyol win on penalties./Yuri 88 – Pedrosa 4/WednesdayCartagena – Valencia 1-2 (0-1)/Ortuno 75 – Soler 35, Cheryshev 90+3/Eibar – Mallorca 1-2 (1-0)/Blanco 45 – Gaya 68, Angel 82/Leganes – Real Sociedad 2-3 (0-2)/Munoz 60, 70 – Isak 8, Oyarzabal 43, 74 pen/Linares – Barcelona 1-2 (1-0)/Diaz 19 – Dembele 63, Jutgla 69/Baleares – Celta 2-1 (1-0)/Martinez 17, 76 – Mendez 67/Mirandes – Rayo Vallecano 0-1 (0-0)/Martin 67/Valaldolid – Betis 0-3 (0-2)/Carvalho 24, Fekir 27, Iglesias 50/Alcoyano – Real MadridThursday18.00: (2.40) Fuenlabrada (2.95) Cadiz (3.40)18.00: (2.60) Girona (3.00) Osasuna (2.95)20.00: (4.30) Zaragoza (3.35) Sevilla (1.92)20.00: (4.30) Gijon (3.40) Villareal (1.90)22.00: (2.40) Almeria (3.10) Elche (3.20)22.00: (11.0) Atl.Mancha (5.50) Ath.Bilbao (1.28)23.30: (13.0) Majadahonda (6.25) Atl.Madrid (1.23)***odds are subject to change
