Barcelona booked their place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after beating Racing Santander 2-0 on Thursday. Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal scored in the second half to settle a tough match.
The game stayed tight for a long time at El Sardinero. Barcelona kept most of the ball early on. But Racing defended well and made it hard for the visitors to create clear chances.
Barcelona missed a big chance in the first half when Dani Olmo failed to finish. Racing also came close, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a sharp save to stop Camara Suleiman.
The deadlock finally broke in the 66th minute. Torres made a smart run to beat the offside line. He collected a through ball, rounded goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta, and rolled the ball into an empty net.
Racing tried to fight back after going behind. Ezkieta then kept his team in the game with two strong saves late on. He denied Fermin Lopez and substitute Robert Lewandowski from close range.
Racing thought they had scored twice in the final moments. Both goals were ruled out for offside. Substitute Manex Lozano then got a great chance on the counter. He chose to shoot from close range instead of passing to a free teammate. Garcia saved it.
Barcelona punished that miss straight away. They broke forward quickly and Raphinha sent in a low cross. Yamal arrived to finish calmly and make it 2-0 deep into stoppage time.
Barcelona now join Athletic Bilbao, Alaves, Albacete, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Valencia in the last eight. The quarter-final draw will take place on Monday. The matches will be played from February 3 to 5.
