Athletic
Bilbao vs Barcelona: Match details
Match: Athletic
Club Bilbao vs FC Barcelona
Competition:
Copa del Rey Final 2021
Date: Saturday
17 April 2021
Kick-off time:
8:30 pm, (UK time)
Stadium:
Estadio de La Cartuja
The only goal of the game was scored by a Basque player but, unfortunately for Athletic, he was wearing blue and white as Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty. This means Athletic still haven’t won a league title or a copa since 1984, losing in five Copa del Rey Finals and the 2012 UEFA Europa League Final to Atlético Madrid in this time.
This includes losing the 2009, 2012 and 2015 finals to
Barcelona. A whole generation of Athletic supporters have never seen their club
win one of the big trophies but they get a second chance to change that. Also,
Marcelino’s side are currently 11th in La Liga so their only realistic route
into next season’s Europa League is by winning this final.
The two
most successful teams in the history of the Copa del Rey will meet in the final
of the 2021 competition on Saturday evening as Athletic Bilbao take on
Barcelona. Athletic, who lost the 2020 final to Real Sociedad earlier this
month, have won this competition on 23 occasions, while Barca have lifted the
famous trophy 30 times throughout their history. Athletic played the final of
the 2019-20 Copa del Rey earlier this month, with the fixture rearranged from
last year due to the coronavirus outbreak; Mikel Oyarzabal’s second-half
penalty ultimately decided the contest, but Marcelino’s team will have another
chance to win the trophy this weekend.
Following a painful loss in El Clásico and a full week of training in Catalonia, Barcelona have made the trip to Seville for the Copa del Rey Final against Athletic Bilbao at the Estadio de La Cartuja. This will be the second time in two weeks that Athletic are playing a Spanish Cup title match at La Cartuja, and 2020 Final was not one to remember for the Lions as they lost to Basque rivals Real Sociedad in painful fashion, a defeat that’s clearly affected the team’s morale.
Despite the Supercup win over Barça in January, this could end up being
a disappointing season for Marcelino’s men if they lose two Cup Finals in a
short space of time and finish mid-table in the league, so Athletic’s focus and
intensity will be at an all-time high for this one.
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