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FULL-TIME, Rayo 1-2 Barcelona: Great comeback from Barça, who could have scored a third if not for Messi being a little too precious in front of goal. Onto the quarterfinals, and we didn’t need extra time this time. Phew!
GOAL!!! Rayo 1-2 Barcelona (De Jong 80’): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Messi finds Jordi Alba with a beautiful pass and Alba gives De Jong a tap-in for the second!
GOAL!!! Rayo 1-1 Barcelona (Messi 69’): BARÇA EQUALIZE!!! Brilliant pass from Frenkie De Jong to Antoine Griezmann, who finds Lionel Messi for a tap-in.
GOAL, Rayo 1-0 Barcelona (García 63’): Rayo take the lead. Counter attack, cross from Álvaro is deflected by Neto, and Fran García scores a tap-in at the far post.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Rayo 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re back underway! Come on, boys, let’s find the goals and win this one!
HALFTIME, Rayo 0-0 Barcelona: Entertaining first half in Vallecas, with good pace and intensity from both sides. Barça had three huge chances and hit the woodwork twice, and Francisco Trincão had a strong penalty shout ignored by VAR.
KICKOFF! Rayo 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway! Come on, boys!
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Neto; Mingueza, Araujo, Lenglet, Firpo; De Jong, Busquets, Puig; Trincão, Messi, Griezmann (4-3-3)
Bench: Ter Stegen (GK), Arnau (GK), Umtiti, Alba, Pjanic, Ilaix, Pedri, Dembélé, Braithwaite
RAYO VALLECANO
Starting XI: Dimitrievski; Hernández, Saveljich, Catena, Martos; Montiel, Comesaña, Trejo, García; Qasmi, Martín (4-4-2)
Bench: Roberto (GK), Suárez, Isi, Ulloa, Bebé, Antoñín, Advíncula, Álvaro, Recio
WELCOME TO THE ESTADIO DE VALLECAS!!! The cozy home of Rayo Vallecano in Madrid is the site of a Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie between the hosts and Barcelona, who come into this one looking for a place in the quarterfinals against a second division team that used to give them problems in La Liga. This should be a fun one, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!!!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2020-21 Copa del Rey, Round of 16
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 27, 2021, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Thursday)
Venue: Estadio de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain
Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández
VAR: Pablo González Fuertes
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM COPA DEL REY
How to watch on TV: Premier Sports 1 (UK), Startimes Sports Life (Nigeria), Telecinco (Spain), others
How to stream: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Player (UK), DAZN (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!