February 04, (THEWILL) – At San Mames on Thursday night, Real Madrid were eliminated from the Copa del Rey after conceding a late goal to Athletic Club.
In the first half, Real sat back and withstood the storm, with the hosts’ high press and frenetic attacking play becoming a little frantic at times, as they squandered a number of half-chances.
Within the first ten minutes, Athletic midfielder Dani Garcia had a stinging long-range strike palmed away by Thibaut Courtois, before Nacho blocked a fizzing low drive.
Iker Muniain got to the byline midway through the half, but he could only hit the side netting from a tight angle after squeezing between two defenders.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with the match becoming scrappier and longer as the minutes passed.
Five minutes after the restart, Raul Garcia’s header deflected narrowly wide, but there was no other clear-cut chance until Casemiro shot straight at the goalie from an uncomfortable angle with nine minutes remaining.
Athletic rescued a winner from the jaws of defeat, despite Real Madrid’s role in handing it to them. With only two minutes of normal time remaining, Luka Modric and Casemiro both failed to clear routine balls, allowing the ball to fall to Alex Berenguer, a substitute.
To lift the goal lid for the San Mames and knock Real out at the death, the winger skillfully cut around Nacho before firing a beautiful left-footed shot across Courtois and into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Athletic’s Basque rivals Real Sociedad were thrashed 4-0 at home by Real Betis in the other quarter-final of the night.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
