Alex Berenguer scored the lone goal of the match in the 89th-minute to complete a semi-final line-up alongside Real Betis, Valencia and Rayo Vallecano.
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Real Madrid’s hopes of securing a Spanish double was shattered on Thursday as Athletic Bilbao scored a dramatic 89th-minute winner to knock them out of the Copa de Rey. Alex Berenguer scored the lone goal of the match to send his team to the semi-finals of the competition. With Barcelona, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid already out, the Los Blancos were the firm favourites to win the domestic cup while in La Liga, they are in the driving seat too, four points ahead of Sevilla at the summit of the points table.Â
FULL-TIME I COOOOOOMMMMMEEEE OOONNN!!!!
A late @AlexBerenguerR strike sees Athletic defeat @realmadriden in the Copa quarter-finals.
✊ ??’?? ?? ??? ????-??????!!#AthleticRealMadrid ? #AthleticClub ? pic.twitter.com/8SOMxgnH7V
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) February 3, 2022
Athletic were clearly the better side and Real Madrid struggled to create chances in the absence of Karim Benzema, and Brazilian trio of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Casemiro, who played on their return from international duty looked off the pace. Vinicius was substituted early in the second half, before Casemiro’s miss-pass paved the way for Berenguer’s goal.
Inside the opening 10 minutes, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a superb save to deny Dani Garcia from the edge of the box. Few minutes later, Munian cut inside Lucas Vazquez down the left flank before hitting the side netting. Although Real Madrid had the majority of the ball possession, it was the hosts who created the better chances.
After the break, Raul Garcia’s header from a cross deflected off Nacho and went just wide. After such a blistering encounter, the game lost a bit of intensity for a while before Casemiro got a golden chance. Nine minutes from time, the Brazilian burst through the Athletic defense leaving himself one-on-one with the keeper but his effort lacked the venom and Real Madrid’s best chance of the night was wasted
Athletic finally found the breakthrough in the last minute of regulation time. The visitors failed to clear the ball on three occasions and eventually they were punished. Berenguer received the ball on the edge of the box, tuned inside and struck it powerfully into the bottom corner.
Athletic last won the trophy in 1984 and lost the 2020 and 2021 finals to Real Sociedad and Barcelona respectively. The Basque side had knocked out Barcelona in the last 16 stage.
