Athletic Bilbao score twice in extra time to defeat Barcelona in six-goal thriller and advance to Copa del Rey semi-finals
Athletic Bilbao defeated Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, with brothers Inaki and Nico Williams scoring in extra time in a thrilling quarterfinal.
The hosts took an early lead with a Gorka Guruzeta rebound strike in the first minute, but Barcelona responded before halftime with two goals in five minutes.
Athletic's Yuri Berchiche attempted to clear the ball from his own six-yard box, but it deflected off Robert Lewandowski and into the empty net in the 27th minute.
Lamine Yamal then produced a moment of magic by bursting past three defenders to the edge of the box, cutting inside and slotting a brilliant strike just inside the far post.
Athletic, on the other hand, fought back after the break and equalized in the 49th minute with a towering header by Oihan Sancet off a superb cross from the left by Nico Williams.
As Athletic pushed for a third, with the skilful Nico Williams causing havoc for Barcelona's defence, they were frequently exposed on the counter, and 16-year-old Yamal squandered two easy chances from close range.
Athletic capitalized on their advantage in extra time. First, Inaki Williams scored a rebound from his own close-range strike that came back off the post two minutes before halftime, and Nico Williams sealed the victory with a fine curling strike into the top corner in the final action of the game.
"Not even in the best of dreams I have seen this coming," Inaki Williams, who just hours earlier had arrived from the Ivory Coast, where he played in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, told TVE.
"Everything went perfectly today. Yesterday I couldn't imagine being here after a very hard blow (Ghana's elimination)."
"I have to thank the club for helping me to be here as soon as possible and the fans for embracing me the way they did."
Athletic will join Real Sociedad, Mallorca, and the winner of Thursday's match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the semi-finals.
Real Sociedad won 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Tuesday, while Mallorca defeated surprise LaLiga leaders Girona 3-2 earlier on Wednesday.
The loss will add to the pressure on Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, who is struggling this season.
Barcelona are third in the LaLiga standings with 44 points, eight behind leaders Girona and seven behind second-placed Real Madrid.
"I'm calm; the most important titles remain," Xavi told TVE, referring to LaLiga and the Champions League, where Barcelona will face Napoli in the last 16.
"We tried, I think we competed well against a great team who are very strong at home. I said at the draw that we were unlucky. We had the winning goal with Lamine's chances, but we can be proud that we tried."
SportsLigue