Athletic Bilbao Vs. Barcelona 2022 – The Lions Eliminate FCB From Copa Del Rey
How The Lions roared in triumph!
The anticipated Athletic Bilbao vs. BarcelonaCopa del Rey 2021-22 match ended in a 3-2 victory for Athletic at San Mames on January 20, 2022.
Spain’s 120th Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) runs from November 17, 2021 through April 23, 2022.
An extra-time penalty paved the way for the defeat of the defending champion Futbol Club Barcelona(FC Club) at the Round of 16 game.
Nicknamed Los Leones (The Lions), Athletic Bilbao will now advance to the final eight (quarter-finals).
Read on to know how the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match unfolded, which the AFP described as “dramatic” but a “thrilling” one, nonetheless, for ESPN and FootballEspana.
Athletic Bilbao Vs. Barcelona Results
At the San Mamés Barria, a 53,289-seat stadium in the city of Bilbao, resident fans cheered wildly for their homegrown talents, as the Athletic won against Barcelona, 3-2.
All the thrills came from the individual and collective performances of the players. Still, special mention goes to Athletic’s Iñigo Martínez, Iker Muniain, and Nico Williams and to Barcelona’s Pedri, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Ferran Torres.
Below is the list of the official lineups of the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona game.
Athletic’s starting 11: Julen Agirrezabala, Oscar de Marcos, Yuri Berchiche, Dani Vivian, Iñigo Martinez, Oihan Sancet, Iker Muniain, Dani Garcia, Mikel Vesga, Raul Garcia, and Iñaki Williams.
Barcelona’s starting 11: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo, Gavi (Pablo Martín Gavira), Pedri (Pedro Lopez), Sergio Busquets, Abde Ezzalzouli, Ferran Torres, and Ferran Jutgla.
The goal scorers at the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match were Martinez and Muniain for The Lions and Pedri and Torres for Barcelona.
Iker Muniain impressed the crowdwhen the 29-year-old captain scored a goal two minutes into the game. Winger Nico Williams assisted him.
Not to be outshined, Barcelona scored a goal 20 minutes into the game. Thanks to their forward Ferran Torres, who previously played forward for the English club Manchester City. Sergio Busquets, midfielder and Barcelona’s captain, assisted Torres in scoring.
Goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala failed to prevent Barcelona from scoring a goal.
It’s the first goal of the 21-year-old Torres for Barcelona.
During his time with Manchester City (2020-2022), Torres scored a total of nine goals, according to Wikipedia.
After winger Alex Berenguer, who substituted for striker Raul Garcia 80 minutes into the game, received a freekick from Iker Muniain, Muniain tried to score a goal with a header.
Barcelona’s German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, however, stopped Muniain’s attempt.
Still, The Lions pursued and 86 minutes into the game, defender Iñigo Martínez scored another goal for Athletic after confronting fellow defender Gerard Pique.
After a few minutes, though, the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match arrived at a 2-2 result, when midfielder Pedri scored a goal 90 minutes into the game.
Following Pedri’s successful attempt was the dramatic turn of events the AFP was referring to.
The said drama started to gradually unfold when left-back/defender Jordi Alba received a yellow card for “touching the ball with his hand in the Barça box,” stated BeSoccer.com. Barça is FC Barcelona’s colloquial name, by the way.
Alba’s penalty happened 105 minutes into the game.
It was during that part of the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match when Iker Muniain scored his second goal.
That second goal made the Athletic Bilbao victorious, with a final score of 3-2.
FC Barcelona Manager Xavier Hernanndez Creus, more commonly known as Xavi, told ESPN: “We fought until the end but in many moments Athletic bettered us with intensity, they were better than us, have to congratulate them.”
“They're a tough opponent,” Xavi added.
Athletic Bilbao Vs. Barcelona Head-To-Head Statistics
Attendance at the recent Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match reached 37,287, reported BBC.
The stats for the said game, per BBC:
(a) Possession – Athletic, 33%; Barcelona, 67%
(b) Shots – Athletic, 19; Barcelona, 7
(c) Shots on Target – Athletic, 7; Barcelona, 3
(d) Corners – Athletic, 8; Barcelona, 3
(e) Fouls – Athletic, 24; Barcelona, 22
Based from FC Barcelona’s website, prior to the 2022 Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona Copa del Rey game, their last five matches were:
(1) La Liga (August 21, 2021) – Athletic 1-1 Barcelona
(2) Copa del Rey (April 17, 2021) – Athletic 0-4 Barcelona
(3) La Liga (January 31, 2021) – Athletic 1-2 Barcelona
(4) Supercopa de España or Spanish Super Cup (January 17, 2021) – Athletic 3-2 Barcelona
(5) La Liga (January 6, 2021) – Athletic 2-3 Barcelona
In La Liga, Athletic Bilbao is currently in 9th place, with Barcelona in 6th, according to sports website Sportskeeda.
Is Athletic Club Same As Athletic Bilbao?
The two names refer to the same footballclub.
According to FootballHistory.org, a group named Bilbao FC was formed in 1898. In 1902, another one surfaced: Club Vizcaya. In 1903, the two agreed to unite and picked the name Athletic Club.
In 1941, they became Athletic Bilbao, now often called Athletic.
Athletic Bilbao has only been accepting, since 1912, players of Basque descent.
Conclusion
The result of the Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona 2022 Copa del Rey game made Athletic to compete against Real Madrid on February 4, 2022.
Cadiz, Real Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and Valencia CF will also play in the quarter-finals.
As for the next Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona match, it will be at the La Liga on February 27, 2022.