Magical Athletic Bilbao Set Up Copa del Rey Final With Barcelona
Athletic Club confirmed another final date with Barcelona on Thursday evening as they beat Levante in extra time of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
With the first leg having ended 1-1, the game went beyond 90 minutes as a Raul Garcia penalty cancelled out Roger Marti’s opener, before a deflected Alejandro Berenguer strike won it in extra time.
Levante got themselves ahead through Marti. Jose Luis Morales excellently moved forward before setting Ruben Rochina free, and his squared pass teed up Marti to eventually score.
Less than a quarter of an hour later the hosts conceded a penalty though, just as Raul Garcia was set to tap into a gaping goal. The forward assumed the responsibility of the spot kick himself and made no mistake.
Nothing could separate the sides for the remainder of the 90 minutes, meaning an additional 30 minutes were on the cards.
Seven minutes into the second half of extra time, Berenguer drove towards Levante’s box and took aim. His strike took a wicked deflection off Nikola Vukcevic, leaving Aitor Fernandez completely wrong-footed as the ball went in off the upright.
The Basques now face the Catalans in another final, having beaten them 3-2 in the Supercopa de Espana final in January.
