Denis Suarez brace fires Barcelona into Copa del Rey round of 16

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:26 am

Barcelona players celebrate after scoring a goal against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona players celebrate after scoring a goal against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey.
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Denis Suarez struck twice for Copa del Rey holders Barcelona as they thrashed Cultural Leonesa 4-1 on Wednesday to progress to the round of 16 with a 5-1 aggregate victory.

The Barcelona midfielder has barely been used this season but put himself in the shop window with a confident display against the third-tier visitors in a comfortable round of 32 second-leg victory.

Holding a 1-0 first-leg lead Barcelona soon stretched that advantage, with Munir El Haddadi slamming a strike into the top corner after 18 minutes to complete a slick team move.

Suarez curled home a delightful second from distance to double the lead and Malcom headed in the third from Ivan Rakitic's cross.

The Croatian captained a much rotated side, with key players like Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique left out of the squad to rest for Saturday's Catalan derby against Espanyol.

Sene pulled a goal back from close range but highly-rated playmaker Riqui Puig appeared in the second half for his Barcelona debut and created the fourth goal with a sweet dink that Suarez dispatched coolly.

The only blemish for Barca came when Brazilian winger Malcolm appeared to suffer a late injury and was taken off, amid an injury crisis at the club with Luis Suarez, Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto among players sidelined.