Unionistas surprised Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and Xavi's face says it all

Barcelona have a challenge this Thursday: beat Unionistas de Salamanca and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. But they know that alone will not be enough. Their rivals have a much lower hierarchy (they play in Spain's third division) and that's why they have to prove that difference on the field, with a convincing performance that clears the doubts about the coach and players.

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Xavi Hernandez was harshly criticized in recent days for Los Blaugranas' failure in the Spanish Super Cup, where they were made fools of by Real Madrid in the final with a 4-1 victory. This added to other previous failures of the team, which are far from the top of the La Liga standings. That's why they can't slip up this Thursday.

But during the first half at the Reina Sofia stadium, things are not going as they expected. Their opponents are carrying out coach Daniel Ponz Folch's plan to perfection, nullifying Barcelona's virtues and preventing them from creating opportunities to score. In fact, in the only situation in which the visitors were able to break through those defensive barriers, goalkeeper Ivan Martinez saved a shot by Marc Guiu with a great reaction.

Unionistas de Salamanca were not satisfied with just defending and also had the courage to attack Los Blaugranas. That's why they got their deserved reward after 31 minutes, when Álvaro Gómez received a floated cross from the left and, without letting the ball touch the ground, he shot with great strength and precision with his right foot and scored a beautiful goal that was much celebrated by the thousands of fans in the stadium.

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The coach couldn't believe it

Moments after the opener, the TV cameras showed Xavi Hernandez's face. From his gestures, it was evident that he is not satisfied with the team's performance and that he will probably make changes. But fortunately for him, just before the break, Joao Felix set up Ferrán Torres, who entered the box and scored the leveller with a soft right-footed shot.