Xavi says Barcelona "took a step forward" with crucial win

The 43-year-old's position as head coach of the Catalan outfit continues to be called into question, and there were rumours that he had started to lose the dressing room following the 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final last weekend.

Alarm bells would have been ringing when Varo Gomez sent third-tier side Unionistas ahead in the 31st minute of Thursday's last-16 affair.

However, Ferran Torres levelled the scores in the latter stages of the first period before Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde registered in the second half to secure a 3-1 success for Barcelona.

The Catalan outfit's reward for their victory is a clash with Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals, with the draw for the next stage made on Friday afternoon.

There will again be pressure on Xavi heading into Sunday's La Liga clash with Real Betis, but the manager refused to play down the importance of the cup success.

«I leave with a very good feeling, that we have improved in the game. Even when we were losing the match I had the feeling that we dominated it. And the second half is very good. We took a step forward. We played well,» he told reporters after the match.

«Congratulations to Unionistas, they didn't seem like a third division team. We had a very strong rival ahead of us. They work very well with their manager Dani [Ponz]. It's not easy to attack a deep block.

»We had to match the aggression, courage and soul. On specific occasions they got the better of us."

However, Xavi admitted that his side 'made mistakes again' during the match and acknowledged the need for