Spain: Barcelona survive Copa del Rey scare

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Linares Deportivo 1 - 2 Barcelona: Copa Del Rey

Barcelona survived a scare against lower league Linares as Dani Alves eventually marked his first Barca appearance in more than five years with a win. 

Barca survive scare in Copa Del Rey

Alves made his long-awaited second debut, having had to wait for the registration window to open following his signing a few months ago.

La Liga news: Barcelona re-sign Dani Alves 

The Spanish minnows took a shock half-time lead through a goal Hugo Diaz.

It wasn't the best performance from Barcelona but goals from Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Jutgla spared them the shock and embarrassment of an exit in the early stages of the competition. 

They started with a second-string line-up against a side 14th in the Primera Division Group 2, but boss Xavi had to make changes at the break. He brought on Dembele, Gerard Pique and Frenkie de Jong, to help turn the tie around.

Reaction 

This is how Xavi responded to the win.

One Barcelona fan told us: "We didn't play that well but it was good to get the win. We are not going to win the league so it would be good to have a run in the competition and win it. We need some success after a horrible few years. We are still suffering from the loss of Lionel Messi."

 Highlights

Return of a legend

Right-back Alves left the Nou Camp in 2016, having won six La Liga titles and the Champions League on three occasions. 

He is one of the most decorated footballers of all time. Outside of his time with Barcelona, he also won league titles with Juventus and Paris St-Germain. 

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