Athletic Club win Copa del Rey after battling penalty shootout win against Mallorca
With Athletic's famous Gabarra ready to set sail for the first time in 40 years, there was a wave of expectation in the Athletic fan base as the illustrious Basque team looked to add another chapter to a Copa story that began at the turn of the 19th century.
Javier Aguirre’s Pirates were ready to storm the deck and remind them of painful times gone by however, with Athletic having lost their last six consecutive such finals.
That pressure, alongside the added stake of instant qualification for Europe meant a cagey start was understandable, and it wasn’t until the 16th minute that the game saw its first shot on target - a speculative strike from Iñigo Ruiz.
That effort served to stoke the Mallorca embers, with Vedat Muriqi going close before club legend Dani Rodríguez side-footed into the top corner to leave Athletic stunned.
The Lions were hungry in their search for an equaliser and thought they’d levelled via Nico Williams’ effort from eight yards, which was ruled out for offside, before he shot wide from an identical position moments before HT.
Mallorca almost found themselves two goals to the good barely seconds after the restart, when Cyle Larin displayed impressive speed and strength to sprint clear before forcing Julen Agirrezabala into a smart save.
Athletic were unbothered by those alarm bells however and rang their own response, this time Williams showed tons of composure to set Oihan Sancet free, who made no mistake with his finish from inside the area.
That early second-half drama saw the game’s tempo increase, and Athletic soon found themselves on top but Gorka Guruzeta inexplicably missed the opportunity to put his side ahead when misplacing his square ball.
With belief increasing within the Basque contingent, Aguirre was quick to react by making a double substitution in order to sway the tie back in his side’s favour. Those changes had the desired effect, as Mallorca regained the defensive organisation they showed in the first period, slowing things down and forcing the game into extra-time which only increased the palpable tension within the crowd.
Saturday night had now turned into Sunday morning, but, despite tiring legs, there were little signs of doziness in either side’s defensive display.
That resilience restricted extra-time to very few chances, although Williams and Muriqi may have done more with close-range efforts before the whistle was blown for a ‘dreaded’ penalty shootout.
Such occasions always offer up the chance to be a hero however, and Athletic keeper Agirrezabala was his side’s saviour as he saved two penalties before Álex Berenguer’s cool penalty sent the King’s cup to the city of Bilbao.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nico Williams (Athletic Club)
