Tag: Athletic Bilbao

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BARCELONA CRASH OUT OF CUP AFTER EXTRA-TIME DEFEAT BY ATHLETIC BILBAO

Barcelona were dumped out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday as Ferran Torres’ first goal for the club failed to prevent a dramatic 3-2 defeat after extra-time by Athletic Bilbao. Disappointment for Barca was compounded by the sight of a visibly upset Ansu Fati going off injured in the second half of normal time at San Mames. Fati only returned earlier this month after two months out with a hamstring problem, having also come back in September following 10 months out with a knee injury.

Another spell on the sidelines for Fati would be a huge blow to Barca’s hopes of making La Liga’s top four. Pedri also asked to go off in extra-time.

Real Madrid needed an extra 30 minutes as well to defeat Elche 2-1, with Eden Hazard grabbing the winner after Marcelo’s red card forced La Liga’s leaders to come from behind with 10 men.

Isco scored the equaliser after Gonzalu Verdu put Elche in front.

“It may be that Hazard and Isco deserve to play more,” said Carlo Ancelotti. “I know I can count on them.”

Barca were hoping to join Real Madrid in the last eight but instead it is Athletic who advance, joining Madrid, Real Sociedad, Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, Cadiz, Valencia and Real Betis in Friday’s draw for the last eight.

Madrid will be firm favourites, particularly after Sevilla crashed out at the hands of Real Betis, who are now perhaps the greatest threat to Ancelotti’s side winning their first Copa del Rey since 2014, during Ancelotti’s first tenure as coach.

Barca won the Copa del Rey last season and defending their title was probably their best chance of silverware this term.

They are out of sight in La Liga and were beaten by Madrid in last week’s Spanish Super Cup, with the Europa League now their only realistic remaining route to a trophy.

“They have beaten us on intensity,” said Xavi Hernandez. “We have to change the dynamic because when it’s heads or tails we always get tails. You have to work and be brave.”

Only 102 seconds had passed when Iker Muniain sent San Mames apoplectic by collecting Nico Williams’ cross at the back post, before turning and bending into the far corner.

But Barcelona were level in the 20th minute, and from a similar angle, as Torres shifted right, inside Oscar De Marcos, and whipped a stunning shot into the net.

Inaki Williams hit the bar with a long-range effort late on but the real drama was still to come. Athletic thought they had won it in the 86th minute when Inigo Martinez prodded in at the back post ahead of the sliding Gerard Pique.

Barcelona, though, found a way back in the 93rd, as Dani Alves bicycle-kicked Jordi Alba’s cross back into the area and Pedri’s hit on the stretch was too powerful for Julen Agirrezabala’s right hand.

Barca celebrated like it was the winner but there was extra-time to come and injuries. Fati went off and then Pedri asked to depart.

Then in the 103rd minute, a sliding Alba stopped Nico Williams’ cross with his right arm and after consulting the replay, Jose Munuera pointed to the spot. Ter Stegen dived right, Muniain shot left.

Hazard had earlier scored his first Real Madrid goal in eight months as Madrid staged a dramatic comeback with 10 men to beat Elche.

The Belgian has been fit but still on the fringes of Ancelotti’s team in recent months and even in this cup game, he started on the bench.

But the 31-year-old came on for extra-time and will hope his winner can now be the beginning of a resurgence in the second half of the season.

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Benzema seals fifth straight LaLiga win

Real Madrid moved seven points clear at the summit of LaLiga as Karim Benzema’s solitary goal sealed a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

Benzema, who also scored in the 2-1 win over Sevilla at the weekend, struck in the 40th minute with his 12th league goal of the campaign – three more than anyone else in LaLiga.

Athletic created enough chances to claim at least a point at the Santiago Bernabeu, yet they were unable to find a way past Thibaut Courtois.

A fifth league win in a row lifted Carlo Ancelotti’s side well clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, although Diego Simeone’s men have a game in hand.

Unai Simon twice denied Benzema from close range inside the opening 15 minutes as Madrid started brightly.

Athletic grew into the game, though, and twice went close before the half-hour mark, Inaki Williams seeing an effort deflected narrowly wide and an unmarked Raul Garcia heading straight at Courtois.

Madrid went ahead five minutes before the interval, Benzema sliding into an empty net from Luka Modric’s mishit shot after Simon had thwarted Marco Asensio.

Toni Kroos whipped wide after a fine team move shortly after the restart, before Lucas Vazquez denied Dani Garcia a near-certain goal at the other end with a superb block.

Unai Nunez inexplicably headed wide from an inswinging free-kick with 20 minutes remaining, while Courtois raced off his line to deny Oihan Sancet as Athletic ultimately fell short of finding the leveller they deserved.

What does it mean? Madrid pushed all the way

Athletic’s tally of 18 shots is evidence that Madrid were far from their best, but Ancelotti’s men did just enough to seal maximum points against their spirited opponents.

The result means Los Blancos are now unbeaten in their last 13 LaLiga games against Athletic – their best such run against them in the top flight.

The superb Benzema has now scored 35 goals in 46 games for Madrid across all competitions in 2021, equalling his best goalscoring tally in a single calendar year for Los Blancos (35 goals in 50 games in 2019).

He sealed all three points against Sevilla on Sunday with a sublime strike, but Vinicius Junior had no such luck in front of goal here. The Brazil international made a game-high five key passes, but failed to have a single shot as Madrid largely toiled in attack.

Madrid travel to third-placed Real Sociedad on Saturday, while Athletic are next in action on Monday when they visit Getafe.

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LIVERPOOL’S ANDY ROBERTSON SUFFERS INJURY IN LIVERPOOL PRESEASON DRAW AT ANFIELD

Liverpool suffered an injury scare to defender Andy Robertson in their 1-1 friendly draw against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The club’s penultimate preseason match was dampened when Robertson, 27, appeared to sustain a serious ankle injury before half-time which saw him replaced.

“We obviously don’t know in the moment how serious it is,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told a postmatch news conference. “It was pretty painful and that’s why Andy went off.

“You probably saw it on the TV pictures better than we did, but he got the ball, the ball on the front of his foot, [and] twisted the ankle.

“The pain settled already, but we cannot say anything further without further assessment tomorrow. He has to get a scan and then we will know more.”

Liverpool went ahead in the first half through a Diogo Jota strike but the LaLiga side replied in the second half with Alex Berenguer goal to rescue a draw.

The match was played in front of Anfield at 75% capacity — the biggest crowd at the ground since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes after thousands of supporters queued outside to enter the stadium.

There was good news for Liverpool as Virgil van Dijk started the game and received a standing ovation when he was substituted after 71 minutes.

Van Dijk, who missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury, impressed as well as Joel Matip and Naby Keita who also spent long spells on the sidelines last term.

Liverpool take on Osasuna in their final preseason match before they begin their Premier League campaign away at Norwich City on Aug. 14. Athletic face a trip to Elche on Aug. 16 for their first league match.

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REAL MADRID KEEP TITLE HOPES ALIVE WITH WIN AT ATHLETICO BILBAO

Real Madrid kept their La Liga title hopes alive with a 1-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The win gives Zinedine Zidane’s men 81 points with one game to play — two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid who rallied to a late victory against Osasuna to stay atop the standings heading into the final matchday.

The result ensures the neck-and-neck title race will be decided next Sunday, when Real host Villarreal and Atletico travel to Valladolid.

It took some time, but Real finally got their critical goal in the 68th minute. After some fine work from Casemiro — who’d hit the crossbar with a header minutes earlier — Nacho bundled home with his knee at the far post after the Brazilian dragged a cross past two defenders and found the unsuspecting goal scorer unmarked.

The win comes after sources told ESPN that the Bernabeu club are expecting Zidane to leave his post at season’s end, with Massimiliano Allegri and club legend Raul leading the shortlist to replace the Frenchman.

“Obviously we wanted to win, and for Atleti to drop points, but there’s a long way to go still,” Nacho said.

“They came back to win at the death and that shows things aren’t easy. We just need to concentrate on ourselves and see how it goes next time out [against Villarreal next Sunday].

“You can see how tough it was for them to win. In the game of football anything can happen, we need to fight until the last, that’s our job.

“It’s a tough place to come and win. Bilbao give up few chances, but we were great in defence. It was more difficult up top, but we were compact and we got the three points which is all that matters.”

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Messi nets two as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao to win Copa del Rey

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 to win the Copa del Rey final.

If Lionel Messi isn’t happy at Barcelona, it was impossible to tell on Saturday when he scored two goals in another masterful performance to brush aside Athletic Bilbao and win the Copa del Rey.

Messi climbed into the tribune after leading the 4-0 win and lifted the trophy high above his head and turned to his team on the pitch below.

For his teammates, coach, and millions of anxious fans, it was easy to read so much into that broad grin, that vigorous shake of the huge cup.

Was Messi finally seeing the folly of ever thinking he could find a better home?

Or was the club’s all-time leading scorer relieved that he could give Barcelona at least one more title before saying goodbye?

Messi did not mention his future after he received the trophy from Spain’s King Felipe VI, one of the few dignitaries along with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in attendance at a stadium closed to fans due to coronavirus restrictions.

Instead, Messi focused on those who were not able to share in the celebration.

“This is a very special cup for me to lift,” Messi said. “It is too bad we cannot celebrate it with our family and fans. But that is the situation we have to accept.”

Even though Messi avoided the burning question of his plans, his great game will raise hopes for Barcelona fans of the soccer great staying at Camp Nou.

And for Joan Laporta, who returned to the club’s presidency last month, Messi should have an easy choice ahead of him.

“Leo is the best player in the world, Leo has deep roots in this club, and I am convinced that he wants to stay,” Laporta said. “We will do all we can for him to stay with us. That is what we most want. And today Messi gave a master class of soccer while being supported by a great team.”

Barcelona’s record 31st cup comes at a crucial junction for Messi and Barcelona. Barcelona has seen its finances badly damaged by the pandemic and its former president Josep Bartomeu was forced to resign after the team’s poor performance last season when it failed to win a title and alleged administrative irregularities. Bartomeu has denied any wrongdoing.

But the peak of the club’s crisis came last summer when Messi said that he wanted to put an end to his highly successful two decades with Barcelona. Since then, he has only said he will make a decision when his contract is up at the end of this season.

The cup, however, puts an end to a title drought since Barcelona won the 2019 Spanish league.

“It has been a difficult year, but like in life, sometimes you fall down and just have to get back up,” said Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who excelled in shutting down Bilbao’s counterattack.

“This is like starting anew, a reset . I think we have turned this around.”

Bilbao has now lost two Copa del Rey finals this month at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville. Bilbao lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad just two weeks ago when they met in the 2020 final that had been postponed due to the pandemic. Sociedad’s reign as Copa champion lasted all of 14 days.

“We were far from our best,” said Bilbao coach Marcelino Garcia Toral. “And even playing our your best it is tough to beat Barca.”

Only some tenacious defending in its area kept Bilbao in the match until Barcelona erupted with four goals between the 60th and 72nd minutes.

The bombardment started in the fifth when Messi set up Frenkie de Jong, who played a perfect aide to Messi throughout the match, to hit the post.

The second half continued with Messi dictating the pace, and now Unai Simon had to save Bilbao.

But the Spain goalkeeper could do nothing to deny Antoine Griezmann in the 60th minute. Griezmann’s sliced in a one-touch strike off De Jong’s cross from the right after Messi had again taken the ball and forced Bilbao to scramble back into its box.

With Bilbao reeling, Barcelona struck again in the 63rd _ this time from the left. Messi also played a subtle part in this goal, making a dummy run to open space for De Jong to push forward and head in Jordi Alba’s cross.

De Jong then helped Messi slalom through Bilbao from near the middle of the field into the heart of the area by exchanging two quick passing combinations with the star. Messi capped the move by dribbling past the last defender before slotting in his team’s third goal in the 68th.

Messi rounded off his stellar performance that earned him a 35th career title for Barcelona when he fired in a pass from Alba.

Messi had again showed, at age 33, that he can still completely dominate a final.

But hanging over the cup was what it truly meant to the inscrutable Argentine.

For coach Ronald Koeman, with his team also in the league title race, nothing has changed. It is up to Messi to decide, while Koeman crosses his fingers.

“Messi showed he is a born winner,” Koeman said after claiming his first title since the former defender returned to coach the club last summer.

“We hope this is not Messi’s last Copa. We want him to stay with us.”

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MESSI SEES RED AS ATHLETIC BILBAO STUN BARCELONA TO WIN SPANISH SUPER CUP.

Lionel Messi was sent off for the first time playing for Barcelona as Athletic Bilbao stunned the Catalans to win the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, a dramatic final finishing 3-2 after extra-time. Moments before Bilbao’s momentous triumph was confirmed, Messi threw an arm at Asier Villalibre, who had earlier scored a 90th-minute equaliser in normal time to deny Barca victory. Antoine Griezmann’s double looked to have sealed the trophy but Villalibre intervened before Inaki Williams’ fabulous strike three minutes into extra time proved decisive.

Messi shook off a thigh problem to start in Seville and was required to play all 120 minutes as Barcelona attempted to take the game to penalties.

Instead, the 33-year-old lost his temper at the end of a combative contest, reacting to a late challenge from Villalibre by swiping his hands across the back of his opponent.

It meant a first ever red card for Messi in 753 appearances for Barcelona, to go with his two reds for Argentina in 2005 and 2019.

“After so many years in football, Leo knows perfectly well when he is fit to play,” said Barca coach Ronald Koeman.

We talked and he said he was in a good place to start. He has survived the game, given the maximum, nothing more.”

Messi’s anger will take some of the limelight away from Bilbao, who had already denied the competition a Clasico final by beating Real Madrid in the semi on Thursday and now have completed the set.

It means a title and the perfect start for Marcelino Garcia Toral, who only took over as coach less than two weeks ago.

But there was praise too for his predecessor Gaizka Garitano, who oversaw this team reaching the Copa del Rey final last season, which earned qualification in the first place.

“This is for Gaizka Garitano and his coaching staff as well who brought us here,” said Williams.

Organisers at the Spanish Football Federation might have hoped for the global attraction of a Clasico, especially as the coronavirus pandemic had already kept the tournament in Spain rather than the lucrative Saudi Arabia, where it was played last year.

Yet this was a frantic final, with a hugely surprising result.

Barca arrived on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run and a trophy, even a minor one, would have turned encouraging signs in recent weeks into more tangible evidence of a revival under Koeman.

“It is not a step back,” he said “Always winning titles is helpful to show that we are on the right track, but it is only one game, it is a Super Cup, and we will show in the next few games that we are on the right track.”

Bilbao were the better side in the first half, more decisive in possession and more aggressive out of it. But both teams created little for 40 minutes and then in two minutes both had scored.

A brilliant pass created each of them, Messi the instigator for Barca.

He collected from the right and threaded through for Jordi Alba on the left, whose cut-back was intended for the Argentinian but spilled out to Griezmann, who could not miss.

Marcelino hurled his water bottle to the ground in disgust but his team were soon level.

Williams played the pass, his clipped ball over the top catching Alba off-guard, with Oscar De Marcos sneaking in and half-volleying home.

Raul Garcia thought he had his third goal in four days when he headed in just before the hour but Barca survived.

With 10 minutes left, Griezmann struck again, Alba’s cross evading the Bilbao defence and finding the Frenchman, who steered in at the front post for what looked like the winner.

Instead, Bilbao scored in the 90th minute to send the game to extra-time and then the 93rd to lead for the first time.

Villalibre was allowed to volley in from close range but there was little Barca could do about Williams’ effort, the striker cutting inside from the left and whipping a tremendous shot into the top right-hand corner.

Unai Nunez might have sealed it but failed to connect. Griezmann almost rescued it but fired high on the volley with his right foot.

Then Villalibre left a shoulder in on Messi, who reacted, scuttling after his opponent and swinging an arm around the back of his head. Messi and Barca were beaten.

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MESSI’S DOUBLE HELP BARCA EDGE BILBAO 3-2 AS SPANISH GIANT RENEW HOPES FOR TITLE RACE

Ronald Koeman said Barcelona can still win La Liga after Lionel Messi scored twice on Wednesday in a 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao. Messi’s double helped Barca reduce the gap behind La Liga’s leaders Atletico Madrid to seven points, even if Atletico will be hard to catch, given they also have two games in hand. Koeman admitted last week it would be “very difficult” to close the gap but was more optimistic after the victory at San Mames. “There is always a chance,” he said. “The season is very long and you can have ups and downs. It may be that one team that is doing very well will later find it difficult.”

Barca trailed to an early Inaki Williams strike but responded with a slick attacking performance that had Messi at the heart of it.

It was his cross that led to Pedri’s equaliser and then the Argentinian could have had a hat-trick, only for VAR and the woodwork to intervene.

But this was a vintage display from the 33-year-old, perhaps his best of the season so far, at a time when his future at Barcelona remains up in the air.

Only a late mistake took some of the shine off Messi’s night, a poor pass allowing Iker Muniain to finish and make the result look closer than it was.

Bilbao had scored in the third minute and the 90th, each time exposing Barcelona’s defensive frailties that remain unsolved.

Yet in between, Koeman’s team were able to dictate the match and demonstrate why going forward they are still a force to be reckoned with.

“The team is growing, playing with more confidence,” said Koeman. “Sometimes we look close to our best.”

Pedri was excellent again, his sumptuous backheel for Messi’s first goal another indication of the 18-year-old’s talent and his understanding with his captain.

Ousmane Dembele, meanwhile, enjoyed one of those virtuouso nights where his speed, invention and confidence made him look every bit like one of the world’s most exciting players.

Everything starts with the player himself,” said Koeman. “He gives us a lot.”

Bilbao were playing their first game under new coach Marcelino Garcia Toral, who led Valencia to win the last completed Copa del Rey by beating Barca in the final.

He was springing off the bench and clenching his fists in the third minute after Williams raced in behind, touching inside the scrambling Clement Lenglet before driving home.

But Barcelona were invigorated.

Sergino Dest should have scored after a neat exchange between Messi and Antoine Griezmann before Pedri did, Messi’s looping cross to the back post cushioned back across for Pedri to nod in.

Dembele was almost unplayable, drifting inside one minute and darting forward the next but it was Pedri’s vision that created Barca’s second.

Messi sent him through, the youngster cutting inside before seeing Messi behind him.

Pedri backheeled, wrongfooting the Bilbao defence and goalkeeper, with Messi sliding in the finish.

Griezmann was denied after more good work by Dembele while Messi had a goal ruled out and then nicked the crossbar with a curling effort from distance.

Bilbao were still in it and might have equalised early in the second half, with the lively Williams and Raul Garcia both going close.

Yet their hopes were dashed just after the hour when Messi struck again. He sent the ball wide to Griezmann via Pedri and when the pass came to the near post Messi was there to stroke in off the crossbar.

Messi could have had his hat-trick but hit the post again when Dembele’s cross was dummied by Griezmann before a misplaced Messi pass allowed Muniain to pull one back for Bilbao. It was Messi’s first mistake of the night.