Barcelona do not need to be scared, insists Rafinha

Rafinha has told his Barcelona team-mates they do not need to be scared after being held to a shock 1-1 draw by Hercules in the Copa del Rey.

Debutant Carles Alena saved Luis Enrique’s men from an embarrassing defeat on Wednesday with a superb long-range strike after they had fallen behind to David Mainz’s opener for the third-tier side.

The two teams meet again at Camp Nou in three weeks, with Barca struggling for form having won only two of their last six in all competitions going into Saturday’s Clasico against Real Madrid.

Rafinha was captain for the match after Luis Enrique made 11 changes to his side with that vital LaLiga game in mind and the midfielder urged his colleagues not to panic.

“We don’t need to be scared about the result,” he said after the round-of-32 tie.

“It was hard finding the road to goal. Hercules is a team which gets close and there weren’t any spaces.

“When a team sits back, shooting from distance is a good tactic and we are happy with Alena’s goal.”

Rafinha added: “Being Barcelona captain is something beautiful to experience. I think I will arrive to Clasico with the motivation than the game deserves.”