Barcelona survived a Copa del Rey scare against third-tier Linares, with Brazilian star defender Dani Alves making his first start since his return to the club. The which ended 2-1 was his first Barca appearance in more than five years with a victory. 38-year-old Dani Alves made his long-awaited second debut, having had to wait for the January registration window to open following his signing in November.
The Spanish third-tier side opened the scoring in the first half of the game with an early goal through Hugo Diaz. But goals from Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Jutgla spared Barca the embarrassment of a third-round exit. Having started with a second-string line-up against a side 14th in the Primera Division Group 2, boss Xavi made changes at the break, introducing Dembele, Gerard Pique and Frenkie de Jong to help turn the tie around.
Right-back Alves left the Nou Camp in 2016, having won six La Liga titles and the Champions League three times. He is the most decorated footballer of all time. He has 43 senior trophies, having also won league titles with Juventus and Paris St-Germain and two Copa Americas with Brazil.
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="462px" width="822px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)