Barcelona coach Xavi has defended leaving Vitor Roque on the bench for their Copa del Rey quarterfinal defeat at Athletic Bilbao.

Instead, Xavi threw on 18 year-old striker Marc Guiu as they went chasing the game in extra-time.

The Barca coach later said: "The other day Vitor came on, against Athletic Marc did... we were looking for more direct football.

"Vitor will have minutes. We have to be cautious, like with all young people. He has quality to help us."

Since arriving at the end of December, €61m signing Roque has only appeared in four games for Barcelona. In total, he has been on the pitch for just 73 minutes.