Yamal scores as Barcelona beat Albacete to reach Copa del Rey semifinals

Yamal scores as Barcelona beat Albacete to reach Copa del Rey semifinalsGoals by Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo ended second-division side’s fairytale run in the Spanish Cup.Published On 4 Feb 2026Barcelona ended Albacete’s ‌giant-killing run in the Copa del Rey, winning 2-1 away on Tuesday to become ‍the first side to ‍book a semifinal berth, but only after surviving a late comeback from the second-tier outfit.Lamine Yamal swept home a 39th-minute strike to open the scoring and captain Ronald Araujo netted from a second-half corner as Barcelona stayed on course to defend the ⁠trophy they won last year.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘It hurts me’: Guardiola says he will continue to stand up for Palestinelist 2 of 4Cavs acquire former NBA MVP Harden from Clippers for Garland: Reportslist 3 of 4A long time coming: Italy to make World Cup cricket debut on February 9list 4 of 4‘Moral degenerate’: Ukraine furious at Infantino over Russia ban commentsend of listAlbacete pulled one back through Javier Moreno in the 87th minute and then ​had an effort cleared off the Barca line in stoppage time as they ‍made a late bid for another high-profile scalp.Albacete, who sit in 12th spot in the Spanish second division, had upset Celta Vigo and Real Madrid in the previous rounds but went behind in the quarterfinal tie when Marcus ‍Rashford helped steal ⁠the ball, passing to Frenkie de Jong, who in turn set up Yamal for a sweeping left-footed finish.Rashford had squandered an early chance, and Dani Olmo had a volleyed effort deflected for a corner before Yamal broke the deadlock.Yamal scored his first goal in this season’s Copa del Rey tournament in the 39th minute against Albacete [Manu Fernandez/AP]Albacete had two quick chances to equalise before the break, but centre forward Antonio Puertas failed to make the most of either opportunity.Olmo had another shot blocked after Rashford’s run had set him up from close ​range in the 47th minute, but Barcelona did double the score ‌nine minutes later when Araujo headed home in his first start since taking a mental health break in December.