Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford send Barcelona into Copa last 16

Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford scored late for Barcelona in a 2-0 win over third-tier side Guadalajara on Tuesday to seal a place in the Spanish Copa del Rey last 16.

In their opening game of the tournament, last season's winners Barcelona faced more resistance than expected from the home side, with both goals coming in the last fifteen minutes.

Dane Christensen broke through for the Catalans after 77 minutes with England's Rashford adding the second after 90 minutes to send the La Liga leaders into the next round.

Real Mallorca suffered the only upset on Tuesday with their 1-0 elimination by second-tier Deportivo de La Coruna.

Elche and Valencia Secure Victories; Real Madrid Set to Face Talavera

Elche won 1-0 away to second-tier Eibar while Valencia triumphed 2-0 away to Sporting Gijón and Real Sociedad overcame third-tier Eldense 2-1 with a goal in the 90+6 minute.

Real Madrid enter the fray on Wednesday, visiting third-division Talavera.

In England, Chelsea showed their support for unsettled boss Enzo Maresca as they survived a scare from third-tier Cardiff to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win on Tuesday.

Maresca's side took the lead thanks to Alejandro Garnacho's strike early in the second half of the quarter-final in the Welsh capital.

Chelsea were pushed hard by the gritty League One leaders, who equalised through David Turnbull's thumping header.

But the Blues delivered a welcome tonic for Maresca after his recent outburst, as Pedro Neto and Garnacho struck in the closing stages.

When Maresca faced the media on Monday, the Italian refused to clarify his explosive claim after Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton that the previous 48 hours had been his worst at Stamford Bridge because he and his team lacked "support" from "many people".

AFP