Copa Del Ray: Athletic Club knocks Barcelona out to reach semis
It was another disappointment for Barcelona, as the club was expecting to go to the Copa del Rey semifinals for the second straight season.
FC Barcelona produced one of their best displays of the season to come from behind to beat table toppers Real Sociedad in La Liga on Wednesday at the Camp Nou.
The surprising leaders of the Spanish league, Real Sociedad, had lost in all their previous 24 visits to Barcelona. However, many had given them a chance this time and with Willian Jose scoring the first goal the speculations seemed turning true.
But a spirited comeback from the Catalan giants saw them keeping aside their recent poor run of form. Antoine Griezmann and Frankie de Jong were on scoresheet for the home team.
Advertisement
However, despite taking the lead, the visitors were not playing their best football, and Barca were soon level after Jordi Alba latched onto Antoine Griezmann’s deflected pass to drill his shot into the far corner.
Griezmann then saw his shot bounce back off the underside of the bar after robbing Igor Zubeldia and shooting from a tight angle, but Barca didn’t have to wait long before taking the lead.
Frenkie de Jong scored the winning goal two minutes before the break, as his first-time finish beat Alex Remiro in the Real Sociedad goal. At first the flag was raised for offside, but the goal was given after a check by VAR.
Things got worse for Real Sociedad shortly after half-time as winger Adnan Januzaj went down holding his hamstring, and it could have been even worse when Griezmann missed a golden opportunity.
Real Sociedad had a chance to equalize six minutes from time, but Marc Andre Ter Stegen pulled off a double stop to deny first Willian Jose and then Alexander Isak.
The win moves Barca in to fifth place in the table, six points behind Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid — although Atletico have a game in hand — while the defeat sees the Basque side drop behind Atletico on goal difference.
Advertisement
