Xavi and his team stopped in the quarterfinals of the King’s Cup after losing 2-4 to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.
Less than 1 minute after the opening whistle, Barcelona had to concede a goal. Starting from a shaky situation in the away team’s penalty area, the ball found Gorka Guzureta’s position. The striker wearing shirt number 12 quickly launched a dangerous shot into the net of goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Having scored an early goal, Athletic Bilbao “came forward to win”, continuously creating remarkable situations towards Barca’s goal. Coach Ernesto Valverde’s students actively held the ball, confusing the away team both in attack and defense.
From a seemingly harmless situation, left back Yuri Berchiche cleared the ball straight into Robert Lewandowski’s feet in the Athletic Bilbao penalty area. The ball hit the Polish striker’s foot and flew into the net before the surprised eyes of goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. 1-1 for Barcelona in the 25th minute.
In the 31st minute, originating from an attack on the right wing, young talent Lamine Yamal cut the ball into the middle, overcoming the blocks of 3 or 4 Athletic Bilbao defenders before launching a classy shot from the left. nearly 20 meters away, hitting goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. 2-1 for Xavi and his team.
Receiving two quick goals, Athletic Bilbao rallied in the remaining minutes of the first half, however, no more goals were scored. The two teams left the field for a break with the advantage in favor of “Blaugrana”.
Entering the second half, in the 48th minute, Athletic Bilbao scored a goal to equalize 2-2. Starting from the situation on the left wing, Nico Williams hung the ball as if it were placed inside Barcelona’s penalty area, creating conditions for Oihan Sancet to escape and head close to the net past goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
After conceding the second goal, Barcelona’s defense still played like a dream, especially defender Andreas Christensen. Luckily for Xavi and his team, Athletic Bilbao players could not take advantage of the success.
In the 64th minute, Barcelona almost scored a goal to increase the score to 3-2. Starting from a quick counterattack, Robert Lewandowski passed the ball to Lamine Yamal to escape and face goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. However, the 16-year-old young talent’s delicate shot went narrowly wide.
In the 86th minute, midfielder Aitor Paredes’ subjective handling gave Lamine Yamal a golden opportunity to increase the score to 3-2. The 16-year-old player even surpassed goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala, unfortunately his subsequent shot sent the ball over the bar.
After 90 minutes of official play, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao tied 2-2. The two teams left the field for a break before entering extra time.
In the first minutes of extra time, Sergi Roberto lost the ball extremely badly, creating an opportunity for Athletic Bilbao’s player to pass the ball to the right wing for Inaki Williams. The striker wearing the number 9 shirt hit the post with Barca’s first shot, but he also quickly kicked back to increase the score to 3-2 for the home team at San Mames.
In the final seconds of the second extra period, Oihan Sancet dribbled the ball with great effort down the left wing before returning it back inside to Nico Williams. The player wearing shirt number 11 launched a classy flick to increase the score to 4-2 for the home team. This is also the final result of the match