Luis Núñez-Villavearán

Updated Wednesday, February 7, 2024-23:40

One blinked and returned to Sunday. He squinted his eyes and saw a clash between whites and red and whites. But, they were not the same teams, nor was it the same stadium, nor was it the same result. This Wednesday there were not three points at stake, there was a title. It was, as

Cholo

says , "the first part of a long match", of an early final for the former King of Cups and the one who wants to be the King of this Cup. And the King is still the king. [Narrative and Statistics, 0-1]

Cholo

's soldiers

searched for the crown from minute one. With two arrivals in one breath, both ending with anger. Five minutes later, Athletic arrived at

Oblak

's area and finished the play with a central defender's shot on the balcony of the area. For a long game, the players wanted to bite. You can talk about physical, tiredness and rest all you want, but when there is motivation...

A lot of pace in the first half, but there was a lack of depth. The two teams were testing each other until

Reinildo

made a huge mess. The Mozambican decided to drive along the line of his small area with

Iñaki

smelling his blood. He managed to get the ball out, but the Bilbao team were already on top. In three quarters they recovered a ball that reached Prados in the area and, to complete the feat,

Reinildo

himself committed a penalty on the Navarrese midfielder and the red card was played.

Berenguer

transformed

the maximum penalty and Cholo, without shelter on a cold night, was taken by demons.

Agirrezabala

almost returned the favor

to Atlético ten minutes later. Ten minutes, by the way, in which absolutely nothing happened. The Basque goalkeeper wanted to avoid a corner after a rebound from his defense, the ball escaped him and went to the feet of

Memphis

while the 23-year-old young man prayed from the ground.

Paredes

listened to him

and made a heavenly appearance to prevent the Dutchman from scoring.

Atlético looked for an equalizer before the break thanks to

De Paul

. The Argentine's improvement has been notable this season. He is everywhere, he fights for every ball and plays with judgment. He almost assisted

Griezmann

in a mischievous free kick on the edge of half-time. The Frenchman's half-turned shot was stopped by the Bilbao defense, which was impeccable for the first 45 minutes.

Athletic

Club

had gone almost half a century without beating

Atlético de Madrid

in the Copa del Rey. Half life. They went to half-time chasing away their demons and playing with authority, but the colchoneros did not want to make history and they showed it after leaving the locker room. The first five minutes were played on the Bilbao field, two of them almost in the area, in which Griezmann claimed a penalty that could have been.

Lino's push

Lino leaves an Athletic player. JUANJO MARTINEFE

One of those responsible for the field tilting towards

Agirrezabala

's goal was

Samu Lino

. There was a moment in the season when Simeone alternated him with

Riquelme

, both, by the way, performing at a high level. But for some time now, the Brazilian has gone one step further and has become indisputable in

Cholo

's plans and in the Colchonero attack. It's not just the depth he provides, he also wins duels, something

Simeone

really likes .

However, and despite Atlético's percussion, it was Athletic that almost finished the job after an error by

Oblak

that softly cleared a shot by

Unai Gómez

.

Villalibre

went in like a buffalo for the rebound, but his shot went into the side of the net. A two-goal advantage, which the lions obtained in the league duel, would have seemed almost impossible to overcome in the remaining half hour of play.

The Metropolitano roared and Atlético percussed, but

Athletic

was waiting in hiding for its opportunity on the counterattack and it almost came if

Iñaki

had decided better and, above all, faster. Valverde's men had the dream plan. That plan also involved having a sleeping, unknown

Griezmann

. Still, it takes little to awaken the French. He did not do it.

Atlético's final siege did not show fatigue. Intensity, pressure and clarity, but, oddly enough, effectiveness was lacking. He missed a

Morata very similar to

Sadiq

's misses

on Tuesday. Alone, half a meter from the goalkeeper, he kneed a good cross from Hermoso. To the clouds. Then a carom in a small area that miraculously fell into the hands of

Agirrezabala

. In the end, so much push could have been rewarded if it were not due to

Morata

's knee

. Offside and first round for the people of Bilbao.