Barcelona rallies to beat 3rd-tier team in Copa opener

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona needed Ousmane Dembelé and Ferran Jutglà to score second-half goals to avoid an upset in its Copa del Rey opener against a third-tier team.

The two forwards secured a 2-1 come-from-behind win at minnow Linares Deportivo to put Barcelona into the round of 16 on Wednesday.

Dembelé went on at halftime and canceled out Hugo Díaz’s 19th-minute goal for Linares with a strike from outside the area to level in the 63rd.

Jutglà completed the turnaround six minutes later to save Barcelona from an embarrassing exit from the cup in southern Spain.

Dani Alves played his first match since returning to Barcelona. The 38-year-old Brazil right back played for Barcelona from 2008 to 2016, helping it win 23 titles including three Champions League trophies.

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