FC Barcelona advanced to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey after a crushing 'manita' against Valencia (0-5). As expected, Hansi Flick took advantage of the visit to Mestalla to give playing time to Iñigo Martínez and Dani Olmo, both injured in recent weeks. The Egarense was out for 15 days and the Basque for 25, although the center-back managed to recover sooner than expected from the right thigh injury suffered on January 12 in the Supercopa de España final.
Initially, the '5' was expected to be out for 4 weeks, but he received medical clearance just before the match against Alavés (1-0). That day he remained on the bench, but on Thursday he had the opportunity to come on for Pau Cubarsí at halftime, taking advantage of the huge lead for the Blaugrana in the first half. The culés were winning 0-4 in just 30 minutes and, with Valencia down and out, the coach took the opportunity to refresh his lineup in the second half.
Iñigo Martínez, Ready to Regain His Starting Position
In addition to Iñigo, Olmo, Marc Casadó, Héctor Fort, and Gerard Martín also came on, the latter at halftime alongside the Ondarroa native. Martínez returned to pair up with Eric García and was impeccable in his clearances to keep the local attackers offside. Not surprisingly, the 'chés' had a goal disallowed in the second half and there were 9 offsides for Carlos Corberán's team during the match.
In 45 minutes, the Basque completed 49 of 51 passes (96 %), with a long-range shot on target in the 71st minute and a good assist to Lamine Yamal four minutes earlier that Yarek intercepted with a timely cut, preventing a one-on-one for the youth player. Additionally, the center-back won 3 of 4 duels, with 2 clearances and a couple of recoveries. Looking ahead to Sunday against Sevilla, the '5' is shaping up as one of Flick's options to accompany Cubarsí. At Mestalla, Ronald Araujo did not play. Before his injury, the Ondarroa native played 27 of the first 28 matches for Barça, all as a starter.