Denis Suarez, Barcelona Beat Cultural Leonesa to Advance in Spanish Copa del Rey

Barcelona booked their place in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey after beating Cultural Leonesa 4-1 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, securing a 5-1 aggregate win.

Munir El Haddadi fired the hosts in front after 18 minutes with an unstoppable strike that flew into the top corner.

Denis Suarez then doubled Barcelona's lead with a low shot from range, before Malcom headed home Ivan Rakitic's cross minutes before half-time.

Cultural Leonesa pulled one back after the break, as Josep Sene smashed the ball home from close range, before Denis completed the scoring with his second of the night.

Alena, Riqui Puig Show Valverde Must Trust Youth

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Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde understandably opted to rotate his team for this match and started youngsters Carles Alena, Chumi, Juan Miranda and Oriol Busquets.

He was rewarded for his team selection, as Barcelona started off strongly against their third division opposition. The hosts scored three in the first half to comfortably wrap the game up in the first 45 minutes.

Alena, who came off the bench to score his first Barcelona goal against Villarreal on Sunday, was again impressive in midfield, while Chumi and Miranda did not put a foot wrong in defence.

Valverde also opted to hand Puig, one of the club's brightest young talents, his senior debut early in the second half when he replaced Busquets after 55 minutes

The teenager enjoyed a lively cameo and capped it off with an assist for Suarez's second goal and Barcelona's fourth.

Sports writer Andy West offered his view:

It was an encouraging evening for Barcelona with their young stars finally given the opportunity to impress in the first team and showing what they can do.

Valverde has often resisted the urge to rotate during his time at Barcelona and has so far been reluctant to give his young stars playing time.

However, Alena and Puig are talented players with bags of potential and showed against Cultural Leonesa that it's time Valverde placed more trust in the club's youth.

Denis Suarez Must Leave Barcelona in January to Revive Career

Suarez offered a timely reminder of his qualities on Wednesday, with two goals for Barcelona.

The midfielder ought to have been celebrating a hat-trick but was denied by the woodwork shortly after opening the scoring.

Yet his goals are unlikely to change his situation at Barcelona. The 24-year-old is way down the pecking order at the Camp Nou and has not made a single La Liga appearance yet this season.

Instead, his only appearances have come in the Copa del Rey and as a substitution in the UEFA Champions League.

That trend is likely to continue, despite his goals against Cultural Leonesa, because of the intense competition for midfield places at Barcelona.

Sergio Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur, Arturo Vidal and even young Alena all appear to be ahead of Suarez in the reckoning, and if he wants to play regularly, he needs to move in January.

The midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Camp Nou in January. Both AC Milan and Chelsea are keen on the 24-year-old, according to Chas Early at The Sun.

There's no guarantee that Suarez will play regularly at either club, but he may be given more chances to stake a claim than he will if he stays where he is.

Suarez's career is going nowhere at Barcelona, and if he wants to get back on track, the best option looks to be a move away this winter.

What's Next?

Barcelona are at Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday. Cultural Leonesa take on Deportivo Fabril on Sunday.