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Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: Copa del Rey – More Copa del Rey drama continued on Thursday evening as Athletic Club knocked out holders Barcelona in the Round of 16 with a 3-2 win after extra-time. Athletic will be mightily relieved to get the lead again which won them the match. It’s no less than they […]

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: Copa del Rey – More Copa del Rey drama continued on Thursday evening as Athletic Club knocked out holders Barcelona in the Round of 16 with a 3-2 win after extra-time. Athletic will be mightily relieved to get the lead again which won them the match. It’s no less than they deserve too. Although the penalty came as a result of Alba’s lack of awareness and Muniain made no mistake from the penalty spot. Follow InsideSport.IN for the latest sports news.

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Scorers: Muniain 2′, 105+1′ (P), Martinez 86′; Torres 20′, Pedri 90+3′ A thriller on paper, the match between these sides quickly lived up to the pre-match hype. Iker Muniain sent Athletic into the driver’s seat after only 100 seconds when his incredible chip went well beyond Marc-André ter Stegen.

Fortunately for Xavi’s men, new recruit Ferran Torres came to the rescue down at the other end. In just his second game, the former Manchester City man scored his first goal for Barcelona with a stunning curling effort of his own. Despite more lunging attacks throughout the first half, things stood 1-1 at the break leaving everything to play for.

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Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16; Ferran Torres debut goal for Barcelona

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Coming out afterward, both sides tussled for control. The visitors continued to hold a comfortable amount of possession but the hosts had over triple the amount of chances to score next. Brothers Nico and Iñaki Williams, in particular, came the closest but their efforts fell short. Barcelona meanwhile brought on Ansu Fati, Frenkie de Jong, and Nico for support.

Then in the dying moments of the match things took a dramatic twist. Athletic’s pressure eventually cracked Barcelona and Iñigo Martinez poked a loose ball over the line for 2-1 after Gerard Pique failed to clear it. Yet with seconds remaining, Pedri smashed a goal home to level things up.

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

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Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: Copa del Rey – However, Barcelona’s luck wouldn’t last long in extra time. Unfortunately for the visitors, Fati was forced off in tears after picking up a new injury and minutes later VAR called a handball against Jordi Alba allowing Muniain to seal things 3-2 from the spot.

It took only 100 seconds for Iker Muniain to hand the hosts the lead after his incredible chip was no match for Marc-André ter Stegen. The goal is the earliest conceded by Barcelona in the competition since January 28, 2015 (Fernando Torres after 38 seconds in the Vicente Calderón).

Athletic Club defeat Barcelona: A five-goal thriller sees holders Barcelona knocked out by Athletic Club from the Copa Del Rey Round of 16

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