Athletic Bilbao sends Barcelona out of Spanish Cup after Real Madrid exit
Fri Feb 07, 2020 07:50:am Sports
1.6K By Afam Jude Offor
Barcelona have crashed out of this season's Spanish Cup championship
following their 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. Inaki
Williams' 93rd-minute lone strike ensured the Catalans were ousted from
the competition at the quarterfinal stage after both sides had gone all
through the encounter without a goal.
The 25-year-old Spaniard flicked a header into the left corner of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's post after running into space to connect with Ibai Gomez's cross moments before the final whistle. Team captain, Lionel Messi had a chance of handing his side the lead earlier in the game, but he failed to convert the chance. While Antoine Griezmann was also brought on to help the visitors break the deadlock, however, Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon did a good job stopping the Frenchman's effort. Meanwhile, their exit is coming minutes after their arch-rivals Real Madrid were also bundled out of the championship by Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu. Zinedine Zidane's men scored three goals but it was not enough to propel them to the semifinals as the visitors outscored them with the scoreline ending 4-3 after all. After the match, Setien told the media that his side has made progress despite their ouster from the competition - making reference to their other games away from home. “Taking into account what has happened to us in other games from home, we have taken a step forward in terms of what we have to improve,” Setien told reporters. “It is the same as ever; there are days when you have one chance and put it in, and there are days where you have ten and can’t do it. There isn’t a reasonable explanation. “I have never known what to blame it on. Their goal came from a play that wasn’t dangerous. There are things that can’t be controlled and this is one of them. “Everything went well, except for the result. I am happy with the team’s work.” Barcelona travel to the Benito Villamarín Stadium this weekend to battle Real Betis as they hope to return to winning ways. The first leg of their meeting ended 5-2 in favour of the Blaugrana but that was under former manager Ernesto Valverde who was shown the exit door last month. Barca are also trailing their competitors Madrid with three points on the log and a further slip up will make their title contention a lot more difficult.
The 25-year-old Spaniard flicked a header into the left corner of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's post after running into space to connect with Ibai Gomez's cross moments before the final whistle. Team captain, Lionel Messi had a chance of handing his side the lead earlier in the game, but he failed to convert the chance. While Antoine Griezmann was also brought on to help the visitors break the deadlock, however, Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon did a good job stopping the Frenchman's effort. Meanwhile, their exit is coming minutes after their arch-rivals Real Madrid were also bundled out of the championship by Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu. Zinedine Zidane's men scored three goals but it was not enough to propel them to the semifinals as the visitors outscored them with the scoreline ending 4-3 after all. After the match, Setien told the media that his side has made progress despite their ouster from the competition - making reference to their other games away from home. “Taking into account what has happened to us in other games from home, we have taken a step forward in terms of what we have to improve,” Setien told reporters. “It is the same as ever; there are days when you have one chance and put it in, and there are days where you have ten and can’t do it. There isn’t a reasonable explanation. “I have never known what to blame it on. Their goal came from a play that wasn’t dangerous. There are things that can’t be controlled and this is one of them. “Everything went well, except for the result. I am happy with the team’s work.” Barcelona travel to the Benito Villamarín Stadium this weekend to battle Real Betis as they hope to return to winning ways. The first leg of their meeting ended 5-2 in favour of the Blaugrana but that was under former manager Ernesto Valverde who was shown the exit door last month. Barca are also trailing their competitors Madrid with three points on the log and a further slip up will make their title contention a lot more difficult.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have been bundled out of the Copa Del Rey cup after losing 1-0 and 4-3 to Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively. #TheScoreKE pic.twitter.com/6sgW6rX07G
— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) February 7, 2020
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