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, while third-division Atlético Baleares eliminated a second topflight side by beating Celta Vigo 2-1 on Wednesday.

Barcelona’s two forwards secured a 2-1 come-from-behind win at third-tier Linares Deportivo to put Barcelona into the round of 16.

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.

ANOTHER UPSET

Baleares, which had already stunned Getafe 5-0 in the previous round, got two goals from Manel Martínez to upset Celta.

Martínez gave the club from the Mediterranean island of Mallorca the lead in the 17th with a header from a quickly taken corner kick.

Substitute Brais Méndez pulled Celta level in the 67th, only for Martínez to head in a cross for the 76th-minute winner.

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