Barcelona was dealt an early blow in the teams’ round-of-32 matchup on Wednesday.
Ibiza is known for many things. Its soccer aptitude is not high up on the list. Yet the Spanish island found its third-tier club leading one of the world’s powerhouse clubs in their David vs. Goliath Copa del Rey showdown on Wednesday.
Ibiza took a ninth-minute lead on Barcelona in their third-round meeting at the Estadio Municipal de Can Misses. Pep Caballe redirected Javi Perez’s cutback cross from the center of the box to beat Neto on the bouncy surface, sparking celebrations in the expanded stands, with locals hoping for the upset to top all upsets.
Ibiza likely should have led by multiple goals, with one being disallowed for a foul and another opportunity bouncing off the post before Neto made the save.
The deficit marks a stunning turn of events for Barcelona, which just featured season highs in ball possession and passes in Quique Setien’s debut as manager over the weekend.
While Lionel Messi was left out of the Barcelona squad for the match, Setien’s team still included first-team talent like Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, Ivan Rakitic and others, with reinforcements on the bench. The new manager likely didn’t think he’d need his A-team to prevent Ibiza from throwing the party of the year, but he just might.
