Barcelona were able to secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over Segunda Division side, Rayo Vallecano in the Copa Del Rey.

After overcoming Elche 2-0 in their La Liga match last weekend, Barcelona were up against Vallecano in their next Copa Del Rey fixture. The Catalan giants also welcomed back Lionel Messi, who was suspended for two games after he was red-carded in the Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Bilbao.

Riqui Puig, who scored in the weekend, and Trincao, were also included in the line-up for the game.

The match began with Vallecano pressing Barcelona’s defence and winning the ball back. However, Barcelona settled into the game and nearly scored when Trincao’s shot was parried into the path of Riqui Puig. Puig’s shot hit the crossbar, and the game ended 0-0 at half-time.

In the second half, Lionel Messi’s sublime freekick also hit the crossbar.

The hosts would get the first goal when Rayo left-back Francisco Garcia scored a close-range tap-in. After the goal against Barca, Ronald Koeman made three substitutions. Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, and Jordi all came on for Puig, Trincao, and Firpo.

Six minutes after Rayo Vallecano scored, Lionel would level the scores after De Jong threaded a beautiful pass towards Griezmann. The Frenchman cut the ball back for Messi to tap into an empty net.

De Jong then sealed the win after Messi played a beautiful ball over the top to Alba. Alba played a low cross to De Jong who smashed it into the net.

Aside from scoring, Lionel Messi made yet another history on Wednesday when he played against Rayo Vallecano in the Copa del Rey. The phenomenal Argentine overtook Josep Samitier to become the player with the most Copa del Rey appearances for Barcelona.

In other Copa Del Rey matches, Sevilla defeated Valencia 3-0, while Almeria won 5-4 on penalties against Osasuna.

Written by: Collins Nwokolo