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Football – Barcelona kicked off their Copa del Rey campaign with a 4-0 win at fourth-tier Barbastro yesterday to progress into the last 16, with striker Robert Lewandowski scoring either side of the break.
Defender Eric Garcia put Barca in front with a bullet header in the 21st minute before Lewandowski nodded home from close range 10 minutes later.
The Poland striker added a third goal two minutes into the second half with a simple low finish from near the penalty spot and Pablo Torre made it 4-0 after capitalising on an error by Barbastro goalkeeper Arnau Fabrega.
“We had to start the year like this,” coach Hansi Flick told a Press conference. “We were very good in defence. We didn’t give our rivals any chance.”
The win saw Flick reach the 100th victory of his managerial career while Barcelona emergency signing Wojciech Szczesny made his debut in goal for the club.
Former Poland keeper Szczesny came out of retirement when he joined the LaLiga giants in October to replace the injured Marc-Andre Ter Stegen but had to wait to make his debut while his rival between the posts Inaki Pena maintained good form.
Barcelona, who face Athletic Bilbao in a Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Wednesday, rested forward Raphinha, while midfielder Marc Casado and defender Alejandro Balde remained on the bench.
Aragonian club Barbastro sit 16th in Group Two of the Segunda Federacion. The two teams met at the same stage of the Copa del Rey last year when Barcelona won 3-2.
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