Alvarez's late brace prevents Atlético from getting red in the Copa del Rey against the sixth division club

Atletico Madrid had to work hard to beat sixth division side Unio Esportiva Vic 2-0 thanks to late goals from Julian Alvarez (24) and reach the second round of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

While most LaLiga clubs fielded heavily modified squads against lower-tier teams, Atletico coach Diego Simeone selected several of his team's regular players for the game on the outskirts of Barcelona.

But even with big names like Conor Gallagher, Alexander Sorloth and Rodrigo Riquelme in the starting line-up, Atlético struggled on the sodden artificial turf.

Simeone had to use Antoine Griezmann, captain Koke and Alvarez to break the stalemate in the second half.

After the home team's Marti Riera missed two golden counterattack chances, Atlético took the lead in the 81st minute through a penalty converted by Alvarez after a fall from Giuliano Simeone.

UE Vic's Alfons Senye was sent off for complaining to the referee after the penalty spot and Alvarez secured Atletico's win after an 89th-minute counterattack.

Atlético joined Girona, Villarreal, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol, Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Getafe in the second round, with all La Liga teams having progressed so far.

Seven Copa del Rey games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday have been postponed after flash floods hit the eastern Valencia region, killing at least 158 ​​people.

Matches involving Valencia, Levante, Manises, Jove Espanol and Hercules de Alicante were postponed after authorities advised against all non-essential travel to the region.

Flooding in the southern region of Andalusia also led to the suspension of Chiclana and Xerez cup matches.

Six of the postponed games have been rescheduled for next week, making Real Sociedad's game against Jove Espanyol in Alicante the only tie without a new fixture date.

Earlier on Thursday, the Spanish Football Federation announced the postponement of all matches scheduled for the eastern region of Valencia this weekend.

All Copa del Rey results can be found here.