The dethroned king – AS.com

The king has fallen. The throne is waiting. 21 years later, Athletic tasted what it means to kneel in the single-match Cup. There were 26 previous attempts, but no one managed to bring down the colossus. It seems that they were in the fight for Seville by decree. Five years in a row they were in the semifinals. Until Osasuna arrived and forced him to abdicate. How cool is the Cup! And how much prestige there is when two teams like these come into play. Athletic, who have it as a fetish tournament, and the Navarrese, who also love this competition without limit, for which they fought two years ago in La Cartuja.

From two teams so friendly to this event that runs parallel to the League, only 90 dizzying minutes could come out and that is what San Mamés contemplated. A period with three goals in seven minutes and a second period in which the visitors knew how to suffer and win the tie in epic fashion. A survival exercise against the overwhelming troops. The chain of errors in the areas of the people of Bilbao, who were absolutely desperate, tipped the balance. Eight days ago they dreamed of the triplet and the Super Cup and Cup have already escaped them, which sent them a serious warning in Las Gaunas with UD Logroñés. The Osasunistas did it again, like two years ago, in this case in the semifinals and in a double installment. Its effectiveness rate is incredible.

Vicente Moreno has had two terrible tests in four days: disabling the intractable Atlético in the Metropolitano and knocking Athletic out of the Cup in a single match, something that no one had achieved since 2003. It gave Atlético a good scare, but I can’t turn off the tap of victories. And Athletic, this time, dynamited the love affair with the Cup. The first thing they tried was to lower the red and white foam, pour water on the lions’ usual volcano through long possessions and very traveling balls with breaks into the spaces to break that advanced pressure from the red and whites. The backs of the center backs Vivian and Paredes noticed an unusual bustle.

The rojillos knew how to take the clash to their own territory. It was very difficult for the locals to create danger, they were completely tied up. Of course, Iñaki had two great opportunities, neutralized by Herrera. But they didn’t just scare them, they had to step up. In three minutes the Cathedral was shaken by the Navarrese whips. Areso began to gallop like a thoroughbred horse in the open field. His stride was irresistible. What a display! A great counterattack allowed Oroz to center, who fired a goal into the top corner from the second line. Athletic was stunned by the blow. Paredes had made a beginner’s mistake, but he made it even worse three minutes later, with a prohibited transfer to Agirrezabala, who went to clear the ball and found a clever Budimir in the middle. A clear penalty that the Croatian coldly converted.

Athletic needed to put the round of 16 in a centrifuge, give signs of your fierceness, if possible before the break. And he did it, with Iñaki, of course, centering into the area, a comb-over from Guruzeta and Nico’s unappealable shot. They closed the gap and fed the La Catedral boiler for the second 45 minutes. The game was going at a fast pace and a tremendous vertigo took over after the break. Jauregizar had two very clear headers, but evidently the boy has the brains to think and put his team to work, not for the shot. The lions were already in their usual landscape, with crosses into the area and shots, the rival getting into their area. He was the Cup champion, recognizable, the same as always, in steamroller mode. De Marcos had one of his arrivals like when he was Bielsa’s arrow in 2012 and achieved the tie in the 56th. Moreno went to defense five to stop the avalanche.

The magic of this tournament was present in the 71st minute. When Athletic was at its best, with Osasuna locked up and Herrera’s area looking like a prison, Rubén García stepped into the area, shot and the ball grazed an opponent. Agirrezabala was covered, he ran away and could not stop the leather, rather he left him dead in a very dangerous area. Budi, with cold blood, gently touched the net over the goalkeeper, who remained on the ground thinking about the fateful play. Herrera had been playing his cards for a long time, wasting time and even faking a muscle problem. He got the stands out of their minds, something that pleases him greatly, he believes it is part of the game. But in the final stretch he did take a knee from Boyomo in the temple and began to bleed. He had to be replaced, although he resisted. That lowered the pulse rate of the crash. The rojillos found themselves with the winning goal at a critical moment and knew how to bail out water in the final stretch. Osasuna, which has not won in the League since November 2, shows another side in the Cup. It has become accustomed to doing things well in Bilbao. And make the king’s existence bitter. Let’s see how the stick digests this one.

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