SD Huesca vs. FC Barcelona: Winners and Losers from Copa Del Rey Game

Barcelona's reserves thumped Huesca 4-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey clash on Wednesday, which means the return at the Camp Nou won't be too interesting. Despite the scoreline, Huesca created some chances and caused trouble for the Blaugrana on a few occasions.

Some of Luis Enrique's fringe players got a chance to show their worth, and some of the youngsters got a chance too. Here are the winners and losers from El Alcoraz.

Winner: Andres Iniesta

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

The Barcelona magician is back after his injury layoff—and in the best way he could have imagined.

For a player who has scored fewer career goals than Chelsea centre-back John Terry, bagging a "worldie" against Huesca would have been quite the feeling.

The last time Andres Iniesta took to the pitch in a Barcelona shirt was in the Clasico, where he suffered a calf injury.

Barcelona were beaten comfortably that day, and it started a bad period for the Blaugrana.

But Iniesta made his return, captaining the side, and as well as his fantastic goal, he also set up Pedro's strike.

Losers: Jordi Masip, Martin Montoya

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

These two academy products had to watch mournfully from the sidelines as the reserves to Barcelona's reserves.

Goalkeeper Jordi Masip was hoping for big things at the start of the season, believing Luis Enrique would give him a fair crack of the whip, per Sport.

However, if he can't get a game against Huesca in the club's first round of the Copa del Rey, then when can he play?

Martin Montoya, meanwhile, looked on glumly as summer signing Douglas started in his place.

As Sport has been reporting, the end looks nigh for Montoya at the Camp Nou.

As Javier Miguel points out in that story, Montoya might feel humiliated, but at least he got a nice hug from Pedro after the Canary Islander fired home Barcelona's third of the night.

Winner: Ivan Rakitic

Petros Karadjias/Associated Press

This is the Ivan Rakitic that we want to see in a Barcelona shirt—a player with the drive and spirit of the man who led Sevilla to victory in the Europa League last season.

The Croatian became a true star in Andalusia but at Barcelona has found it harder to shine as brightly.

Of course, doing it against Huesca in the Copa del Rey is far from the same as on the biggest stages, but Enrique will have been pleased with the confidence shown by Rakitic.

His perfectly hit free kick gave Barcelona the lead, and another one from a similar position hit the post.

Were it not for Lionel Messi, Rakitic would have virtually installed himself as the dead-ball master at the club.

Loser: Douglas

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

He's not particularly popular with Barcelona supporters for various reasons, with one being that the club signed him this summer instead of Mallorca starlet Marco Asensio, per Sport.

There's also the fact that he doesn't appear to be that good. His debut against Malaga was a disappointment; he got booked, and the team dropped two points at La Rosaleda.

Since then he had not been seen until Wednesday. Although he did reasonably well going forward, a suicidal pass into his own box nearly resulted in Huesca scoring a goal.

Dani Alves will be back in for the game against Espanyol on Sunday. Barcelona's right-back situation is almost farcical, with the Brazilian moving towards the end of his contract, Montoya out of favour and Douglas, well, being Douglas.

Winner: Luis Enrique

Petros Karadjias/Associated Press

This sixth consecutive win is the longest positive streak that Luis Enrique has enjoyed in any of his jobs.
Barcelona, while not fully back on track, seem to be improving slowly.

There are still problems, but this win over Huesca means Enrique can play youngsters and reserves in the second leg too, keeping his key men fresh and fit.

The Copa del Rey is a long slog of a tournament because the ties are two-legged, so any extra rest his stars can get is for the best.

Two positive results in the next two games, against Espanyol and Paris Saint-Germain, would represent a huge boost.

That won't be easy; the first is a Catalan derby, and the latter is a shoot-out to decide who finishes top of their Champions League group.

Losers: Espanyol

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Espanyol won their Copa del Rey game against Alaves, but on Sunday they play Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

It's not an easy trip for any team, but Barcelona are always a little more fired up to play their rivals, as you might expect.

What's more is that Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez will be completely fresh for the game.

None of them were in the squad to take on Huesca, so they haven't played since the game against Valencia on Sunday night.

That's an entire week off before the Espanyol clash, during which they've been working together and growing their understanding of one another's game.

Barcelona's strike force will click, and you'd bet on it being soon.