Barcelona stunned by third-tier Spanish minnows as former Birmingham flop smashes stunning hat-trick in Copa del Rey

A FORMER Birmingham City flop stunned Barcelona as he smashed THREE goals past them in the Copa del Rey.

But Xavi Hernandez had the last laugh as his side netted an extra time winner to book their place in the last 16.

Oriol Soldevila netted a stunning hat-trick against BarcelonaGetty

GettyThe former Birmingham City man had a night to remember for Intercity[/caption]

Third division minnows Intercity welcomed the LaLiga giant to their humble abode in Alicante, Valencia on Wednesday.

And midfielder Oriol Soldevila had a night to remember as he struck a fantastic hat-trick against superstars including World Cup finalists Jules Kounde and Ousmane Dembele.

It was a remarkable achievement for the ex-Barcelona youth, who also spent two years with Birmingham City’s youth team before departing without making one single senior appearance.

Soldevila only joined Intercity last summer and had scored just two goals before becoming the first player since Kylian Mbappe for Paris Saint-Germain in February 2021 to hit three against Barcelona.

Speaking after the final whistle, humble Soldevila revealed he would not be seeking a shirt swap with any of the big names on the field, instead seeking out close pal – and Barca’s third-choice goalie – Arnau Tenas.

Soldevila said: “I’ve been with Cule since I can remember, I’m a member too. With the first I was happy, with the second and third I couldn’t believe it.

“The shirt I’ll ask for is Arnau Tenas, the third keeper there. He is my best friend in football, that’s the one I want.”

Unfortunately for Soldevila, his treble was not enough to prevent Intercity from crashing to a 4-3 defeat.

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Despite Soldevila’s treble, Barca scored an extra-time winner for a 4-3 victoryGetty

Ronaldo Araujo opened the scoring for Barcelona after just four minutes.

But Soldevila pulled his side level with his first goal in the 59th minute.

Ousmane Dembele restored Barca’s lead seven minutes later before Soldevila equalised again in the 74th minute.

Raphinha made it 3-2 to the visitors moments later but Soldevila stunned Xavi with a dramatic 86th minute effort for 3-3.

Yet Barca had the final word as Ansu Fati’s 103rd minute effort in extra time wrapped up the win for the title hopefuls.