Cup monster Athletic Club rages on, after Barcelona knocked out Real Madrid

It almost seems like the only thing Athletic Club players and fans care about is the Copa del Rey. In the league, Bilbao is absolutely mediocre, but in the cup they have always dominated, after Barcelona they have knocked out Real Madrid.

It was clear from the start that Real Madrid were not going to have an easy time at San Mamés. Already when the players arrived, there was a hellish atmosphere in the stadium, which forced the Athletic players to perform heroically.

The Basques were playing for their lives. No ball was lost, all the players slipped, fought and Athletic were the better team in the match. Real, without injured top scorer Karim Benzema, didn’t really know what to play at home.

Back to the opener. Why is Athletic a cup monster? It wanders between ninth and eleventh place in La Liga, has the fifth fewest goals in the league, and is thus an utterly mediocre side, its games most often ending in a 0:0 or 1:1 draw.

But once the Copa del Rey comes around, something moves in Bilbao. Athletic have reached the last two finals, although they lost both. Last year they lost to Barcelona, the year before that to Real Sociedad. At the moment, thanks to this history, it is definitely the biggest favourite for the Copa del Rey, with Betis, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia also having slipped into the semi-finals.

Athletic’s journey through the cup has been exceptional. First they were 2-0 up against Mancha, but then came the big tests. At home, the Basques beat Barcelona 3-2 and Real Madrid 1-0.

In the match against Los Blancos they had a slight advantage throughout the game, but it did not result in a goal. Ironically, just when the Basques were running out of breath, the decisive blow came. Real Madrid took the lead a few minutes before the end and wanted to decide before extra time.

However, Casemiro’s fumble in front of his own penalty area was fatal, Álex Berenguer headed the ball in the 89th minute and sent it with his left hand to the bar. This sent all the fans at San Mamés into ecstasy, as they stood for the rest of the match to push their favourites into the semi-finals.

Source: Livesport