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Out of the cup, out of sorts...
The atmosphere in Bilbao is always something else, and Wednesday night’s Copa del Rey quarter-final was no different.
Both teams emerged from the tunnel at San Mames to what can only be described as a cacophony of noise. A sound that was almost primal as the mostly Basque audience greeted their heroes.
Within a minute of the start Barca’s Achilles heel had already shown itself again, the Catalans going 1-0 down immediately.
It was symptomatic of Barca’s season, giving the visitors an uphill struggle if they wanted to put themselves into the hat for the semi-final.
Fortunately, Lady Luck was on hand to give Barça a helping hand to get a foothold in the match.
Robert Lewandowski just stuck out a leg as Athletic looked to clear, and as quick as a flash Xavi’s side were level.
It gave them the impetus they needed to up the tempo and start dictating play.
✅ Youngest player to play and score for Barcelona
✅ Youngest player to play and score for Spain
✅ Youngest player to score in LALIGA history
✅ Youngest player to score in Spanish Super Cup history
✅ Youngest player to score for Barca in… pic.twitter.com/xTaw1bpa2g
When a player is that good at just 16 years of age, it’s hard not to get overexcited about what he offers the side.
There are definitely comparisons that can be drawn with Ansu Fati, however, and that should sound a warning for any culers already wanting to anoint him as the next Leo replacement.
By rights Yamal shouldn’t have even been playing in this game because he apparently has his exams to be undertaken later in the week.
That in itself brings his journey to this point into sharp focus. He’s just a baby and yet he’s already taking on the lion’s share of responsibility.
It’s as if everyone is already waiting to see what magic the youngster will come up with in any given match.
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Are we in the presence of football greatness? No one can say for sure because Lamine has years to develop and hone his obvious talent.
That also means that pressure and critique shouldn’t be applied every time he pulls on the shirt.
To see reports where he has been blamed for the loss because of missing that late chance when rounding the keeper is a dangerous game to be playing indeed.
He was the main threat that Barca had for most of the night so any blame should be diverted elsewhere.
For example, a driving run in the 73rd minute to ease the incessant pressure on his side, and the simple balls that are often the hardest to play, suggested that his in-game intelligence is improving game by game and he is becoming an important cog in the wheel.
Some might say he’s already becoming this squad’s talisman, but let’s not even go there yet....
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The misses are clearly bothering Yamal, as he took to social media after the game to say sorry to fans.
Lamine Yamal Instagram
“We left everything on the pitch. I’m sorry for the mistakes, Culés We have to keep working, I don’t know any other way,” he wrote.
Xavi spoke after the game about Yamal and made it clear he should not be blamed.
“I am disappointed not to take the chances at 2-2, but there is nothing to blame the kid for,” he said. “He is a kid of 16 who is playing amazingly. He generates [the chances] himself.”
Lamine is still only 16 and actually made history during the match. He’s the youngest player to score in the Copa del Rey this century.
The Barca ace netted at the age of 16 years and 195 days, beating the record previously held by Malaga’s Juanmi Jiménez who scored aged 16 years and 238 days in 2010.
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Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo spoke out after Xavi’s side were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Club on Wednesday.
The Catalans were beaten 4-2, after extra time, at San Mames as Ernesto Valverde’s side progressed to the semi-finals.
Here’s what Araujo made of it all:
“It’s sad to lose this match and be left out of the Cup. We wanted to fight for this title but I’m left with the fact that we competed with many casualties, many young people... We have to be smarter with one minute left” he told TVE after the game.
“It’s a hard blow but we have to keep fighting. We have an important game against Naples. We are going to fight until the end for this shirt.”
Photo By Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press via Getty Images
The Williams Brothers strike again, and Barça are out
Barcelona are out of this season’s Copa del Rey thanks to a painful heartbreaking 4-2 loss against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals at the Cathedral of San Mamés on Wednesday night. Barça conceded less than a minute into the game but found a way back and fought until the very end of an epic Cup tie that went deep into extra time, but noted Barça Killer Iñaki Williams once again proved decisive as Athletic eliminated the Blaugrana at San Mamés for the third time in the last five years.
FIRST HALF
Barça started the game by going behind thanks to a comedy of errors at the back: a sequence that started with a bad pass by Lamine Yamal led to a cross from Yuri Berchiche, and the Blaugrana made a mess of the clearance thanks to Iñaki Peña’s indecision in the box and the ball eventually fell to Gorka Guruzeta, who found the net just 37 seconds into the game.
It was a stunning beginning that came as a result of Bilbao’s very effective high pressing, which was a fixture of the home team’s early strategy and forced Barça into several aimless, wasteful long balls that kept them from establishing any rhythm in possession and gave the ball back time and time again to an Athletic side that quickly moved it from back to front and created one dangerous attack after another.
After 10 very difficult minutes to start the game Barça finally managed to slow down Athletic’s momentum and have more of the possession, looking to build patiently from the back to get the ball to the forward players in good positions to attack. The Catalans struggled to create a real chance, however, and to make matters worse they lost yet another key player as Alejandro Balde was forced off with an apparent hamstring injury and had to be replaced by young Héctor Fort at left-back after just 23 minutes.
Three minutes after that, though, came an unlikely but crucial equalizer: a beautiful long ball from Andreas Christensen found Ferran Torres on the left wing, who then found Pedri in great position inside the box; the magician was initially dispossesed before he could score, but the attempted clearance by the Athletic backline hit the onrushing Robert Lewandowski and went into the back of the net for a weird but very important goal for the visitors.
The goal gave Barça confidence and upped their hunger and intensity without the ball, and it was the Blaugrana’s turn to suffocate Athletic in possession and get the ball back. And Barça’s improved overall play didn’t take too long to yield a result: six minutes after the equalizer the ball found Lamine Yamal on the right wing, and the 16-year-old decided to make some magic happen with a sensational solo run into the center and a beautiful curling shot that found the bottom corner and completed the comeback at the half-hour mark.
Athletic were very clearly stunned by the quick nature of Barça’s turnaround and lost all of their steam, and despite a few trips forward in the final minutes of the period they never came close to scaring the visitors’ backline.
The halftime whistle came to end a thrilling opening frame, and after a nightmare start Barça had showed great composure and fighting spirit to keep playing, find their way back in the game and eventually go into the interval with the lead. But the tie was obviously far from over, and the Catalans knew they would need to survive Athletic’s early blitz in the second half and manage the game well to confirm a spot in the semis.
SECOND HALF
Athletic’s expected early blitz did come, with the home team dominating the ball and Barça looking to retreat and not concede as much space to try and protect their lead. But the Blaugrana’s plan didn’t work: just four minutes into the period a cross from Nico Williams came from the left wing and Peña once again was very indecisive coming out of his goal, allowing Oihan Sancet all the time and space in the world to head the ball home and tie the game.
The home team then got boosted by the return of their talisman, Iñaki Williams, who came back sooner than expected from the African Cup of Nations and came on at the hour mark. His speed and power were immediately felt as soon as he entered the fray, and Athletic looked like the team most likely to find the winning goal midway through the final period.
Barça almost scored against the run of play on a counter-attack when Lewandowski released Yamal all alone with plenty of space to run and just the goalkeeper in front of him, but Lamine’s attempted chip over Julen Agirrezabala went wide of the mark and the youngster missed a massive chance.
As we reached the final 15 minutes of regulation Barça were clearly the team most interested in avoiding extra-time, with the Blaugrana showing more urgency and willing to take some risks and leave spaces in behind. Xavi Hernández made his first attacking substitution around that time, with João Félix replacing Lewandowski and Ferran Torres moving up top looking to use his pace to cause damage in behind the Bilbao backline.
And with five minutes to go, it looked as though Barça had found the winner: Yamal smartly came from behind and took the ball away from Bilbao center-back Aitor Paredes, ran untouched into the box, rounded the keeper and was in perfect position to score with his weaker right foot and an open net in front of him. But the youngster somehow missed the target completely, wasting his second monster chance of the period and keeping Athletic alive in the tie as we reached the dying seconds.
Neither team managed to create a good enough chance in stoppage time, and the final whistle of regulation came to send the tie into extra time.
EXTRA TIME
The two teams used the first 15 minutes of the overtime period to basically recharge their batteries after a frenetic end to regulation, with Barça dominating possession while Athletic sat back and absorbed pressure. Neither team expended too much energy, and both sides seemed content with the score before changing ends for the second half of extra time.
But on the very last play of the first half, after Sergi Roberto lost the ball in midfield and created a counter-attack for the home team, Asier Villalibre’s pass was deflected onto the path of Iñaki Williams who found himself one-on-one with Peña and hit the post at first before tapping home his own rebound to give the home team a precious lead with 15 minutes left to play.
Xavi looked to his bench for one last roll of the dice and sent on Marc Guiu hoping that the young striker’s propensity for dramatic late goals would help rescue the Blaugrana again and force a penalty shootout. Guiu had an excellent chance with 10 minutes to go but fired straight at the keeper, and Athletic nearly sealed the victory on the ensuing counter-attack but Peña made his best save of the night to stop Iñaki Williams from point-blank range.
Barça had no choice but to send everyone forward at the death looking for a miracle equalizer, while Bilbao looked for one last chance to kill the game off on the counter. And that chance finally arrived in the 120th minute as Iñaki’s younger brother Nico Williams found himself all alone at the edge of the box and used the outside of his right foot to curl the ball into the top corner and settle the tie for good.
The final whistle came to end another epic Copa del Rey encounter between these two historic rivals, and Barça once again find themselves on the wrong end of a thriller at San Mamés. Athletic somehow always find a way to win in the Cup at home against Barça, but the Blaugrana did fight until the very end. They just came up short in Bilbao. A lot of other teams do.
Athletic: Agirrezabala; Lekue (De Marcos 90’), Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Prados (Herrera 90’), Vesga (Gómez 46’ (Jauregizar 105’)); Ares (I. Williams 59’), Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta (Villalibre 73’)
Goals: Guruzeta (1’), Sancet (49’), I. Williams (105+2’), N. Williams (120+1’)
Xavi Hernández has called up 22 players for Wednesday’s clash
The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana travel to the Basque Country for a monster Copa del Rey quarter-final tie against Athletic Bilbao, and Xavi Hernández has called up the following 22 players for Wednesday’s game:
Goalkeepers: 13. Iñaki Peña, 26. Ander Astralaga, 36. Aron Yaakobishvili
Defenders: 2. João Cancelo, 3. Alejandro Balde, 4. Ronald Araujo, 15. Andreas Christensen, 23. Jules Kounde, 33. Pau Cubarsí, 39. Héctor Fort
Forwards: 7. Ferran Torres, 9. Robert Lewandowski, 14. João Félix, 19. Vitor Roque, 27. Lamine Yamal, 38. Marc Guiu
Barça get a massive double boost to their defense for this one as two key players return: João Cancelo is back after missing the last three weeks with a knee injury, and Andreas Christensen is also fit again after sitting out at the weekend with a bruised foot. There are still several players out for this one, however, with Raphinha (hamstring), Iñigo Martínez (hamstring), Marc-André ter Stegen (back), Marcos Alonso (back) and Gavi (knee) all missing due to injury.
The match kicks off at 9.30pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8.30pm GMT (UK), 3.30pm ET, 12.30pm PT (USA), 2am IST (India, Thursday), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.
VISCA EL BARÇA!
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Barça travel to the Basque Country for a monster quarter-final tie looking for a spot in the Final Four
Athletic Club Bilbao vs FC Barcelona
Competition/Round: 2023-24 Copa del Rey, Quarter-Finals
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Gavi, Raphinha, Iñigo Martínez, Marcos Alonso (out)
Athletic Outs & Doubts: Iñaki Williams (out), Dani García, Óscar de Marcos (doubt)
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 9.30pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8.30pm GMT (UK), 3.30pm ET, 12.30pm PT (USA), 2am IST (India, Thursday)
Venue: Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez
VAR: Eduardo Prieto Iglesias
How to watch on TV: Startimes World Football (Nigeria), TVE (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), FanCode (India), others
Following a thrilling victory away to Real Betis to stay alive in the La Liga title race, Barcelona return to action for yet another game in a brutally busy January as the Blaugrana travel to the Basque Country for a monster Copa del Rey quarter-final tie against Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao at the Cathedral of San Mamés on Wednesday night.
These two old rivals cannot stop meeting each other in the Spanish Cup, with their legacy in this competition a big part of their historical significance in the country’s football landscape. Barça and Athletic love winning the Cup, and they often have to go through each other in order to experience ultimate glory.
Barça’s last Copa triumph came against Bilbao three years ago, and their last meeting in the Cup came the following season with Athletic winning a sensational Round of 16 encounter almost exactly two years ago. San Mamés will once again provide a magnificent background as these two go to war again, and this time there’s a spot in the Final Four at stake in a competition both teams have a very realistic shot at winning.
Despite Barça’s amazing win at Betis on Sunday and Bilbao’s surprising defeat away to Valencia a day before, it is not crazy to say that Athletic arrive at this one as favorites. Maybe they are not as big a favorite as they were when the draw was made a week ago prior to the weekend’s events, but they are still playing at home and having a consistently great season which gives them the edge over Barça’s rollercoaster.
The simple truth is you never quite know what Xavi Hernández and his troops will give you from one game to another. They might put in an attacking performance of near perfection as they did against Betis, or they’ll flirt with embarrasing Cup exits against a fourth tier team and a third tier team in consecutive weeks.
But you know exactly how Valverde’s team will play, especially in front of the San Mamés faithful: Athletic will press high and suffocate you until you give them the ball back, and then their fast, incisive, decisive and brutally efficient forward players will quickly combine to create chances and score goals before you even know what hit you.
The African Cup of Nations has temporarily taken away their biggest star in Iñaki Williams, who always seems to play at his most devastating best against Barça, but his younger brother Nico has more than made up for Iñaki’s absence and has started to add goals and consistent end product to his impressive set of skills.
There are very few weaknesses in Athletic’s team this season, and Valverde is doing his best coaching job yet. His infamous stint at Barça has made him a more well-rounded manager, and he’s gone back to Bilbao ready to create perhaps the scariest version of Los Leones we’ve seen in the last decade.
Athletic will be relentless and physical, and the crowd will be into it from the very first whistle. San Mamés is always hell, but the temperature will be even higher this time. Athletic can smell a Cup title and they could be in the Champions League next season, and they don’t care who they have to go through to finish this season on a high.
Barça must be ready for war or they’ll leave the Basque Country knowing their most realistic path to a trophy is now dead. They showed against Betis that they’re good enough to score and win against the toughest teams in the toughest environments. The challenge now is to do it again, in an even tougher environment, against an even tougher team.
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Peña; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Gündogan, De Jong; Yamal, Pedri, Ferran; Lewandowski
PREDICTION
Athletic are nearly unstoppable at home, with the type of high pressing system that can be a nightmare for Barça. This will be fast and physical and wide open and full of chances and scares for both sides, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it goes 120 minutes. I have no idea who to pick, but I’ll choose to be optimistic for this one: 3-2 Barça in an epic game.
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The controversial player is looking for a summer move
English media has persistently linked Mason Greenwood with a switch to FC Barcelona following his successful loan spell at Getafe.
Greenwood was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of attempted rape and assault, although ultimately the case was dropped because key witnesses withdrew their involvement. Publicly released evidence showed Greenwood apparently abusing a woman, although the player has denied committing a crime.
The fallout was such that Manchester United, his parent club, has not allowed him to train or play with them, and the English national team has followed suit.
Still, on the football pitch, Greenwood has performed well at Getafe. So much so that the rumors are heating up that he would make a move to a bigger club, even despite his controversial history.
The rumors that he is going to join Barcelona come from English outlets only at this point, and not from those based on Catalonia, which could point to his agent trying to drum up interest. However, there are no reports from Spanish outlets denying the story as of yet, so nothing definitive can be said.
Considering his past, Greenwood would prove a controversial - to say the least - signing for a club that has always tried to project an image of standing up for human rights.
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Lamine Yamal Instagram
