Athletic Bilbao Defeats Barcelona's Hopes In The Copa Del Rey

Barcelona were eliminated in the Copa del Rey after being defeated by Athletic Bilbao. (X/@FCBarcelona)

JAKARTA - Athletic Bilbao recorded Barcelona's hope of winning the title in the Copa del Rey. In the quarter-final match at the San Mames Stadium, Thursday, January 25, 2024 in the morning WIB, Athletic won 4-2 through extra time. Athletic also advanced to the final.

Barca are threatened without a title this season. After failing in the Spanish Super Cup, Barca's hopes in the Copa de Rey were dashed.

Now, Barca just have to hope in the Champions League. However, the Blaugrana will compete fiercely with European elite teams. Apart from rivals in La Liga such as Real Madrid, there are defending champions Manchester City, Bayer Munich to Inter Milan.

How about the Spanish La Liga competition? Barca are indeed ranked third. However, with 44 points, Barca are already eight points behind the leaders of the Girona standings.

Barca should be wary of threats from the teams below it. Atletico Madrid and Athletic both pocketed 41 points. This means they are only three points adrift with Barca.

Athletic is actually not a light opponent for Barca. They show consistency in domestic competitions that still survive in the top five.

Athletic's consistency is shown again that relies more on local players. The only foreign player in the Athletic squad is Inaki Williams, a Ghana international.

In that duel, Inaki Williams, who had just returned from Ivory Coast after strengthening Ghana in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, immediately entered the squad. He started the match by sitting on the bench.

Koryovalverde's coach just fielded Williams in the second half replacing Malcolm Adu in the 59th minute. As a result, the 29-year-old forward became the determinant during extra time. He scored one goal and the assist who brought Zuri-gorriak (The Red and Whites) to the Copa del Rey semifinals.

The match itself was tight and short since the first minute. Athletic immediately took the lead when the game had only been running for one minute. The front player of Gorka Guruzeta managed to break into Inaki Pena's goal through a quick goal.

But the hosts' advantage did not last long. Senior striker Robert Lewandowski managed to equalize the score in the 26th minute. The former Bayern Munich striker used the rebound ball to find the Athletic goal.

Even Barca didn't take long to be good ahead. This time, Lamine Yamal's young star changed his score 2-1 in the 32nd minute. Yamal completed a mature assist from defender Jules Kunde. Barca's advantage lasted until halftime.

In the second half Athletic remained aggressive in suppressing the opponent. The possession of the balls of both teams is balanced even though Barca are slightly superior.

However, the hosts showed effectiveness in the attack. As a result, they managed to equalize when Oihan Sancet scored in the 49th minute. The header of Sancet who met Nico Williams' pass made the score change 2-2.

This was the only goal created in the second half. Until the end of the match, both teams drew so that the extra time round continued.

Inaki Williams, who immediately left the national team after being knocked out for failing to enter the third best, became the winning star. He scored in the 105+2 minute or first 15 minutes of injury time after utilizing a wild ball.

Athletic is increasingly unstoppable. They broke into Pena's goal again when the game was about to end. Inaki Williams played a role in Athletic's fourth goal process.

Nico Williams completed his mature pass in the 120+1 minute. Again, a goal was created in injury time in the second half extra time.

Athletic made Barca bite their fingers after closing the game with a score of 4-2. They also advanced to the Copa del Rey semifinals.