Luis Enrique’s team are gradually inching towards becoming the best ever reserve team in the Club’s history, as they move back up to third place in the Segunda B. Missing the Youth team players involved in the Champions Cup and with Bartra and Thiago joining the first team squad, “Lucho” sent out a starting 11 that include Oriol Romeu, who’s been out injured since the start of the year.

The game was also watched by Andres Iniesta, who is from Albacete .

Poor first half

Barça found it hard to play their trademark fluent style of football, as Albacete, a team threatened with relegation, took them on head to head. However, little by little the B team managed to put together enough passing movements to give the Albacete keeper a number of problems, whilst Adrià was the visitors’ most dangerous looking player.

Fightback

Albacete made a good start to the second half, when Oriol Romeu handled the ball in the box on 50 minutes and Tato made no mistake from the spot.

However, that goal seemed to wake up the Barça B team and within five minutes, Jonathon Soriano pounced on a Nolito shot from the left that came back off the post to equalise.

Soriano makes it two

Sergi Roberto and Ilie were then denied by the keeper and the woodwork, before on 82 minutes, Kike Tortosa handled in the Albacete box to give away a penalty and pick up his second yellow. Soriano made it two from the spot and it could have been three soon after when Edu Oriol, who had come on in the second half, saw his excellent chip go just wide.