Athletic Bilbao ended a 40-year wait to win the Copa del Rey on Saturday by beating RCD Mallorca 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
The Basque side lifted the trophy for the 24th time, behind only 31-time winners Barcelona, as they edged underdogs RCD Mallorca at La Cartuja stadium in Seville.
Dani Rodriguez sent Mallorca ahead in the first half, but Oihan Sancet leveled soon after the break and the sides could not be separated until penalties.
Photo: AFP
Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala saved Manu Morlanes’ penalty and Mallorca’s Nemanja Radonjic lashed another spot-kick over the bar, with Athletic converting all four of theirs to triumph.
Alex Berenguer stroked home the winning penalty to spark wild celebrations among the hordes of supporters traveling from Basque.
Athletic, defeated in their six previous appearances in the final, brought an era of almosts to a close with a hard-fought win.
Having beaten Barcelona and Atletico Madrid en route to the final, Los Leones were able to secure the club’s first major trophy since a domestic league and cup double in 1984.
“This is incredible, we’ve made history,” man-of-the-match Nico Williams told TVE.
“The team worked hard, the fans are always with us and they deserve it, I’ve dreamed of this for a long time,” he said.
Mallorca, winners in 2003, had started stronger and target man Vedat Muriqi’s long-range effort was tipped over uncertainly by Agirrezabala.
In the final for the fourth time, the islanders took the lead after 21 minutes through Rodriguez’s perfectly placed finish.
After Giovanni Gonzalez’s shot was blocked and Jose Copete’s effort was saved, Rodriguez carefully placed the ball into the top corner, past Athletic’s Dani Vivian on the line.
When Los Leones did create anything it came from the outstanding Williams, and he slotted home after 39 minutes, but was offside.
Yuri Berchiche blocked well to deny Copete as Mallorca had a sight of goal for their second, before Williams fired into the side netting after breaking into the area.
Agirrezabala thwarted Canada international Cyle Larin early in the second half before Athletic found the equalizer.
Again Williams was heavily involved, sliding a pass into the box for Sancet to gleefully stroke beyond Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif to delight Athletic’s raucous traveling support.
A brilliant dribble by Williams almost helped the Basques take the lead, but his cross flashed through his brother Inaki Williams’ legs, with the Ghana international unable to react in time to finish.
Greif beat away a Vivian piledriver late on and Gorka Guruzeta headed narrowly wide, but the teams could not be split before extra time.
Nico Williams had a shot from close range brilliantly deflected wide by the lunging Pablo Maffeo after 111 minutes.
At the other end Agirrezabala was alert to shovel away Muriqi’s header, with the Kosovo striker sporting a large bandage after a painful clash of heads with Unai Gomez.
What followed in the shoot-out was more painful still for Muriqi, who converted his penalty, but his teammates could not follow suit.
“I’m emotional because I’m proud of my teammates and of the fans who came here,” Rodriguez told TVE. “It was a dream to lift this cup and we tried until the end.”
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS