Bilbao hero Iker Muniain knocks Barcelona out of the Cup! Watch his gala performance

Athletic Club and the Spanish Cup, it fits perfectly together. The club from Bilbao is mediocre in the league, but when it comes to the cups, it jumps to the next level. Last time they knocked Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey, and a huge part of that was captain Iker Muniain.

Athletic Club’s club policy is relentless. The Bilbao club does not buy any foreign players, not even Spanish ones. In fact, it only plays with players born in the Basque Country, which is located in the north of Spain.

The Basques are very proud of their origins and do not want to let players from other regions join them. That’s why Athletic doesn’t buy anyone, but at the same time not many players leave the club. One such example is Iker Muniain.

the 29-year-old has been playing for Athletic since 2009. He was one of the biggest talents in the world, almost all of Europe wanted him. But Muniaan decided to be loyal to Athletic and never left, now he even became the captain of the Basques.

He is one of the biggest fan favourites at San Mamés, and his performances on the pitch prove it. Like against Barcelona. And again, it was in the cup games where Athletic have been so successful. Twice in a row they have reached the Copa del Rey final, but where they lost first to Real Sociedad and then to Barcelona. Last year, however, they dominated the Spanish Super Cup, beating both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This year, they went past Atlético Madrid in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup, only to fall short to Real Madrid in the final. But in the Copa del Rey, it looks like another run. The Basques knocked out Barcelona in the eighth round and are once again among the favourites according to the other teams in the competition.

And for that, the northern Spaniards can thank Muniani in particular. The Athletic captain masterminded Barcelona’s defeat, scoring all the goals in the 3-2 win.

The left winger opened the scoring in the 2nd minute. Nico Williams pulled the ball brilliantly down the right side and played it across the box to Munian, who from an angle flicked a beautiful curve over ter Stegen.

Barcelona then equalised thanks to Torres and the game was 1-1 for a long time. But in the 86th minute, Muniain took a direct kick. He found De Marcos at the back post with a beautiful centre and his header was met on the line by Iñigo Martínez.

In the 93rd minute, Barcelona equalised thanks to Pedro and it went to extra time. But Athletic and Muniain reigned supreme again.

In the 106th minute, the head referee awarded the home team a penalty for Alba’s hand, with captain Muniain in charge. And he nervelessly slotted the penalty into the left side of the goal.

It wasn’t just about the goals, Muniain put in an absolutely fantastic performance. Like a good captain, he fought, he worked hard, he helped the defence, he won the balls, and in the attacking phase, his younger teammates could lean on him. And most importantly, he decided the match with his goals. Bilbao can thus dream of another trip to the Copa del Rey final, which would be the third in a row.

Source: Twitter, Livesport