Barcelona sneak past fourth-tier Barbastro in Copa del Rey

Barcelona made hard work of fourth-tier opponents as they booked their place in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Sunday with a 3-2 win at Barbastro courtesy of goals from Fermín López, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.

Lopez opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute with a tap-in from a low cross from Raphinha, who then made it 2-0, collecting a fine long ball from young debutant Hector Fort in the 51st minute.

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Despite Barcelona looking dominant, Adria de Mesa lifted the spirits of the home crowd when he capitalised on a loose ball in the box to pull one back for Barbastro in the 60th minute.

Barbastro went close to equalising, before substitute Lewandowski made no mistake from the penalty spot to extend Barca's lead with two minutes to go.

"We suffered a little. The first half was good. It seemed as if we had killed off the game but these matches are always complicated," Barca coach Xavi Hernandez said after the match. "We complicated things for ourselves. We lacked concentration at times. The game was under control. We had a goal wrongly disallowed, but we made mistakes and it all changed at a corner.

"The goal to make it 2-1 lifted them. It was the game of their lives. It was a game to win well, but, because of our own mistakes, we suffered more than normal.

Barbastro's Marc Prat made it 3-2 in stoppage time also with a penalty, but the hosts could not prevent Barca from sealing the win.

"I insist, I leave with good sensations because we were good in the first half," Xavi said. "Hector Fort played well, Fermín Lopez as well."

Barcelona now turn their attention to the Spanish Super Cup, a four-team tournament held in Saudi Arabia and contested along with Osasuna, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Barca begin play on Jan. 11 against Osasuna.

"The team are up for it," Xavi said. "The Super Cup and the Copa kick off this month and we're motivated, excited and looking forward to them."

The Copa del Rey round-of-16 draw will be held on Monday, with fixtures scheduled for Jan. 17.

Information from Reuters was used in this story.