Shock Basque double for Barca, Real in King’s Cup

Barcelona and Real Madrid both crashed out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday night as Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad pulled off a shock Basque double to reach the semi-finals.

Barca were beaten 1-0 by Bilbao at San Mames, where Inaki Williams headed in a dramatic 93rd-minute winner, after La Real had seen off Madrid 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Two sensational upsets added another layer of excitement to a competition that has been full of surprises this season, with Bilbao and Real Sociedad joining Granada and second division Mirandes in an unfamiliar line-up for the draw on Friday.

With this latest loss, Quique Setien has lost two of his opening six games in charge, with a Champions League tie against Napoli fast-approaching. The fall-out from another failure in Europe would prove longer-lasting.

“We deserved to go through,” said Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

“But the ambition and attitude I saw on the field encourages me for the league and the Champions League. Success can come.”

For a rotated Real side, who sit top of La Liga, the loss against Real Sociedad was perhaps less damaging, even if they conceded as many goals in 69 minutes as they had in their last 11 matches put together.

Martin Odegaard, on loan at Sociedad but allowed to face his parent club, found the opener before the superb Alexander Isak hit two to give Sociedad a remarkable 3-0 lead.

Marcelo and Rodrygo both scored late in the second half and while Mikel Merino added a fourth for the visitors, a Nacho Fernandez header set up a wild final three minutes, in which Andoni Gorosabel was also sent off. Ten-man Sociedad held on for a superb win to progress to the last four while Madrid’s run without success in Spain’s domestic cup extends to six years.

“It hurts, we have to be honest, nobody likes a defeat,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.

One consolation might have been the display of the 21-year-old Odegaard, who is beginning to live up to the hype after signing for Madrid aged 15.

Their 21-game unbeaten streak comes to an end after an uncharacteristically careless performance in which a rotated side highlighted the importance of the likes of Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Thibaut Courtois.

Courtois’ replacement Alphonse Areola was at fault for at least one of the goals while Marcelo was typically unpredictable at left-back, a position the more dependable Ferland Mendy has made his own in recent weeks.

Eden Hazard is training again but the wait for his return goes on while Gareth Bale was again left out of the squad completely.

Yet Zidane’s changes should take nothing away from Sociedad, who showed why they were pushing for a place in La Liga’s top four earlier this season, before a dip in form has seen them slip to eighth.

“It is the second time in 32 years we’ve reached the semis,” said their coach Imanol Alguacil. “We were convinced we could do it. But we haven’t achieved anything yet.”

Later, Athletic Bilbao and Sociedad were kept apart in the draw for the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Friday.

Bilbao will face Granada and Sociedad will take on Segunda side Mirandes over two legs, keeping alive the chance of a first Copa del Rey final between the Basque teams since 1910.

Mirandes have reached the last four after knocking out three La Liga sides in Villarreal, Sevilla and Celta Vigo.

Granada, who sit 10th in La Liga, had already ended Valencia’s hopes of retaining the title by winning 2-1 on Tuesday thanks to a Roberto Soldado double.

Sociedad are the most recent winners of Spain’s domestic cup, having lifted it in 1987. Bilbao last won the tournament in 1984.

Granada’s best is reaching the final in 1959 while this is only the second time Mirandes have made the semis in their history.

The first legs are scheduled for Feb.12, with the return legs coming almost a month later on March 4.

Agence France-Presse