Defending champion Barcelona has avoided an upset a day after Real Madrid faltered in the Copa del Rey, edging second-division leader Racing Santander 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals.

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is reportedly close to leaving the club and joining Girona on loan for the rest of the season.

Barcelona were greeted with a guard of honor from Racing players as a result of their recent Spanish Super Cup triumph. But the environment quickly turned hostile as Racing pressured energetically in the opening exchanges, overwhelming Barcelona early and feeding off the energy from a frenetic crowd at El Sardinero.

New Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa took responsibility for the team's "painful" 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to second-tier Albacete on Wednesday, defending his decision to rest a number of senior players.

Arbeloa got off to a dismal start as the new coach of Real Madrid, seeing his team lose to second-division club Albacete 3-2 and drop out of the Copa del Rey in the round of 16.

La Liga giants Barcelona had an emerging hero to thank once again for their eventual victory over Racing Club on Thursday.The player in question? Joan García.Barcelona of course marked their return

Barcelona avoided a Copa del Rey upset thanks to second-half goals from Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal in a 2-0 win. A day after bitter rivals Real Madrid were dumped out of the competition by second division side Albacete,