Football/King’s Cup : Athletic Bilbao beats Barça(4-2)
At the end of a thrilling encounter, Athletic Bilbao ultimately emerged victorious against FC Barcelona in extra time (4-2). The Basques eliminated the Catalans and secured a spot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Following Real Sociedad’s narrow victory over Celta Vigo and Girona’s surprising defeat to Mallorca the previous evening, Athletic Bilbao hosted FC Barcelona at San Mamés in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
After two hard-fought qualifications against fourth and third division teams in the previous rounds, Barcelona faced a tough challenge against a Basque team determined to continue their current form, having suffered only one defeat in their last fifteen matchups across all competitions.
Determined to get back into the game, the Catalans weathered the storm and, against the run of play, managed to equalize with a comical goal. Like a fox in the box, Lewandowski blocked a clearance from Berchiche and beat Agirrezabala (26th minute). A few minutes later, Yamal followed suit to give Barcelona the lead.
Taking advantage of a Basque transition mistake, the 16-year-old Spanish international eluded Berchiche and infiltrated the danger zone. Inspired, the youngster found the near post of Agirrezabala with a curled left-footed shot, scoring his third goal of the season (32nd minute).
Unrecognizable for about twenty minutes, Athletic eventually initiated a high press just before halftime. Pushing Barcelona to their limits, the Bilbao club, however, met resistance in the form of Pena. Vigilant on his line, the Spanish goalkeeper repelled a straight volley from Sancet (42nd minute), allowing his team to go into halftime with a one-goal lead.
