Alex Berenguer on Wednesday earned Athletic Bilbao an impressive 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid in a tense Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
The winger rolled home a 25th-minute penalty to secure the victory, but Atletico were frustrated after a late spot-kick in their favor was annulled.
Yeray Alvarez felled Alvaro Morata in the penalty area in stoppage-time, but a video assistant referee review showed the forward was offside in the buildup.
Photo: Reuters
Athletic inflicted Atletico’s first home defeat of the season in all competitions.
“They pressed us well in the second half, especially, but in the end we got a very good result,” Berenguer told Movistar. “We did what we’ve been doing all the year, the team sacrificed a lot and this is the way we have to continue.”
Sitting fourth in La Liga and 10 points adrift of leaders Real Madrid, cup success remains Atletico’s best avenue to silverware this season.
Diego Simeone’s side defeated holders Real Madrid in the round-of-16 and scraped past Sevilla to reach the semi-finals, but will need to mount a comeback in the Basque Country.
Meanwhile, Athletic ousted record 31-time winners Barcelona in the quarter-finals, and played with grit and determination at the Metropolitano.
The Basque side have lost the past six Copa finals they have played in, although with 23 triumphs they have won more than any side except Barcelona.
The visitors took the lead in the capital when Reinildo Mandava clumsily plowed into Benat Prados to concede a penalty and Berenguer sent Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak the wrong way from the spot.
Memphis Depay might have leveled, but Aitor Paredes was alert to block his shot after a Julen Agirrezabala error, while Antoine Griezmann fired narrowly wide.
Samuel Lino whisked a low effort past the post early in the second half as Atletico sought a leveler.
Asier Villalibre should have doubled Athletic’s lead, but lashed into the side-netting after Oblak parried a shot invitingly into his path.
Regardless, Ernesto Valverde’s side take an impressive result back to their San Mames fortress for the second leg on Feb. 29.
Atletico almost snatched an equalizer, but Inigo Lekue hacked an Angel Correa effort off the line in the final stages.
In stoppage-time Atletico thought they had a penalty of their own, but Morata’s offside saw it canceled out and the striker headed just wide with the last touch of the match.
“We had two or three big chances to equalize and that’s the path we must follow,” Simeone told reporters.
Atletico midfielder Koke also chose to stay positive.
“Just as they won here, we can win at San Mames,” he said. “We have to keep working and turn things around in the second leg.”
Real Sociedad drew 0-0 at RCD Mallorca in the first leg of the other semi-final on Tuesday.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS