Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona ! Bilbao Stuns Barça 4-2 in Extra Time Drama!

Barcelona’s Copa del Rey campaign comes to an end on Wednesday night at the Cathedral of San Mamés when they lose heartbreakingly to Athletic Bilbao 4-2 in the quarterfinals. Barçelona showed tenacity in the face of an early deficit, extending the match into extra time. But once again, Athletic’s great adversary Iñaki Williams proved pivotal as they won, giving Athletic their third consecutive five-year triumph over the Blaugrana at San Mamés.

First half : The first few minutes saw defensive blunders that cost Barça dearly. A misdirected pass by Lamine Yamal set off a series of events that ended with a cross by Yuri Berchiche. Gorka Guruzeta scored the game’s first goal just 37 seconds in after Iñaki Peña made a poor judgment in the box, making it difficult for the Blaugrana to clear the ball.

The result of Bilbao’s extremely successful heavy pressing was the excellent start. This tactic, which was central to the home team’s early strategy, forced Barçelona to use a lot of pointless and inefficient long balls. Because of this, Barçelona found it difficult to get into a rhythm when in control, frequently giving up the ball to an Athletic team who moved quickly from defense to attack and constantly posed a threat with their daring attacks.

Following a difficult first ten minutes, Barçelona increased their possession and effectively stopped Athletic’s progress. Their strategy was to gradually build their play from the back, passing the ball to forward players who were in good positions to attack. In spite of their best efforts, the Catalans could not consistently create clear opportunities. After just 23 minutes, Alejandro Balde appeared to have injured his hamstring, forcing the youthful Héctor Fort to take over at left back, further exacerbating the issue.

Three minutes later, an unlikely but crucial equalizer occurred. Andreas Christensen’s fantastic long ball found Ferran Torres on the left wing, and Torres’ pass put Pedri in a great position inside the box. Pedri was taken down before he could take a shot, but the Athletic defense’s next attempt at clearing the ball hit Robert Lewandowski as he was approaching, giving the visitors an odd but important goal.

Barcelona gained confidence from the goal, which increased their hunger and defensive pressure. The Blaugrana then regained possession of the ball by stifling Athletic’s possession. Six minutes after the equalizer, Barçelona improved play paid off as the ball found its way to Lamine Yamal on the right side. At the half-hour mark, the 16-year-old finished the comeback with a stunning curling shot that nestled into the bottom corner after pulling off an incredible solo run into the middle.

Athletic lost all momentum as they were clearly taken aback by Barcelona quick reversal. They made a couple late-period attempts to penetrate, but were unable to seriously threaten the visiting team’s defense.

An incredible first half came to an end with the halftime whistle. Barcelona had a terrible start, but they showed incredible calmness and perseverance to level the score and grab the lead before halftime. They knew, though, that the tie was far from over. To guarantee a trip to the semifinals, the Catalans knew they would have to weather Athletic’s early onslaught in the second half and control the match expertly.

SECOND HALF: Athletic launched an early onslaught as expected, controlling possession as Barcelona sought to counter retreat and reduce space in order to maintain their lead. But the Blaugrana’s plan backfired. Just four minutes had passed when Nico Williams’ cross from the left flank took advantage of Peña’s mistake, giving Oihan Sancet plenty of time and space to head the ball home and tie the score.

Iñaki Williams, Athletic’s talisman, returned from the African Cup of Nations earlier than anticipated and entered the game at the hour mark, giving Athletic a huge boost. Williams made an instant impression with his strength and quickness, giving Athletic the impression that they had a better chance of winning halfway through the last frame.

Barcelona put Yamal one on one with plenty of room to move, and Barçelona nearly scored on a counterattack against the run of play. But Lamine’s attempt to chip over Julen Agirrezabala was off target, and the young player lost a great opportunity.

Barcelona turned into the more motivated team to avoid extra time in the final fifteen minutes of regulation. Xavi Hernández made his first aggressive substitute, showing greater eagerness and a desire to take chances by leaving openings behind. Lewandowski was replaced by João Félix, and Ferran Torres moved up top in an attempt to use his speed to attack the Bilbao defense.

It seemed like Barçelona had secured the victory in the final five minutes. Yamal evaded the goalie, raced unnoticed into the area, and skillfully dispossessed Aitor Paredes, the center-back for Bilbao, setting himself up to score with his weaker right foot into an open net. But the young player mysteriously failed to hit the goal completely, blowing his second big chance of the half and keeping Athletic in the tie as the final seconds ticked down.

After the last whistle of regular play, neither team created a significant opportunity in stoppage time, and the game entered extra time.

EXTRA TIME: After the tight end to regulation play, both sides concentrated on regaining energy throughout the first fifteen minutes of extra time. Barcelona gained possession as Athletic resorted to a more defensive strategy. As they swapped ends for the second half of extra time, neither team showed much energy and seemed content with the score as it stood.

After Sergi Roberto lost possession of the ball in midfield, Asier Villalibre launched a counterattack, deflecting Asier Villalibre’s pass into Iñaki Williams’ path in the last play of the first half. With fifteen minutes remaining, Williams, one-on-one with Peña, first struck the post but quickly finished off his own rebound, giving the home team a vital lead.

Xavi went to his bench in a desperate bid to alter the tide, hoping that Marc Guiu’s penchant for late-game heroics would secure another comeback or force a penalty shootout. With ten minutes remaining, Guiu had a good chance, but he shot directly at the goalkeeper. Athletic came dangerously close to completing the win on the ensuing counterattack, but Peña made the play of the game by save Iñaki Williams at close range.

With the clock ticking down, Barcelona committed every player forward in hopes of a last-minute equalizer, making them open to Bilbao’s counterattacks. The game-winning move came in the 120th minute when Iñaki’s younger brother Nico Williams stood unmarked at the edge of the box. He skillfully curled the ball into the upper corner with the outside of his right foot, ending the tie.

At the final siren, another exciting Copa del Rey match between two legendary rivals came to an end, with Barçelona losing in a San Mamés extravaganza. Athletic usually finds a way to win while playing Barcelona at home in the Cup. The Blaugranas gave it their all, but they were defeated in Bilbao, a destiny that many other teams also experienced.