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Messi marks return with goal as Barca come from behind to beat Rayo
MADRID, Jan 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Lionel Messi marked his return from
suspension with a goal in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday as Barcelona survived
a scare against Rayo Vallecano to reach the quarter-finals.
With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid already out, another upset looked on
the cards when Fran Garcia gave Rayo a surprise lead at Vallecas early in the
second half.
But Messi tapped in Antoine Griezmann’s pass to equalise before turning
creator, sending Jordi Alba through, with Frenkie de Jong at the back post to
seal a 2-1 victory.
Rayo sit fourth in Segunda, Spain’s second tier, after being relegated
from the top flight in 2019, with their fans and players at loggerheads with
the club’s president Raul Martin Presa amid the club’s decline.
A victory over Barcelona, 30-time winners of the competition and now strong
favourites to make it 31, would have delivered a brief boost to morale, even
if this compelling cup tie never had the tension it deserved without the
ground’s usually raucous fans.
Still, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman will be relieved to have made it to
the quarter-finals and to see Messi on target again, the Argentinian taking
his tally for the season to 15 goals.
Messi had sat out the previous two games suspended after being sent off in
the Spanish Super Cup final defeat by Athletic Bilbao but looked refreshed
and ultimately made the difference again.
There were less positive outings for Riqui Puig, Francisco Trincao and
Junior Firpo, who all missed an opportunity to impress Koeman, who promptly
whisked all three off after Rayo took the lead.
Koeman was full of praise for De Jong.
“He’s a more complete player now. As well as building from behind, his
ability to arrive in the box at the right moments is helping us to create and
above all score goals,” said the Barcelona coach.
“We are still in the cup and we are recovering our level in the league. We
have to keep going.”
In the last eight, Barca join Sevilla, who had earlier made light work of
struggling Valencia.
Valencia were beaten 3-0, their focus now on avoiding relegation from La
Liga.
Real Betis, Villarreal and Levante also progressed on Tuesday.
Barca hit the woodwork twice in the first half. De Jong flicked a finish
onto the crossbar and Puig struck the post after Trincao’s shot spilled out.
Messi was collecting the ball from deep and driving through midfield but
both he and the weaving Puig were often frustrated by a committed and
aggressive Rayo defence.
Rayo rode their luck too, another effort grazing the crossbar early in the
second half, this time from Messi, who opted to curl a free-kick towards the
top corner from wide on the right.
But Rayo survived and when their first chance came, they took it. Breaking
at speed, the ball was played wide to Alvaro Garcia, who stopped and then
went again, leaving Clement Lenglet for dead.
His fired cross was fumbled by Neto, with Fran Garcia in the right place
for a tap-in.
Koeman responded by throwing Jordi Alba, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele on for
Puig, Firpo and Trincao.
Alba pulled back for Pedri and then De Jong threaded through Griezmann,
who looked up and gave Messi an open goal at the back post.
The substitutes took Barca to a different gear and 10 minutes later, the
comeback was complete as Messi clipped a spinning ball over the top for Alba
to run onto and he slid a pass for De Jong to score his fourth goal in seven
games.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0848 hrs