Athletic Club dramatically knock holders Barça out of Copa del Rey AET | OneFootball

More Copa del Rey drama continued on Thursday evening as Athletic Club knocked out holders Barcelona in the Round of 16 with a 3-2 win after extra-time.

Scorers: Muniain 2′, 105+1′ (P), Martinez 86′; Torres 20′, Pedri 90+3′

A thriller on paper, the match between these sides quickly lived up to the pre-match hype.

Iker Muniain sent Athletic into the driver’s seat after only 100 seconds when his incredible chip went well beyond Marc-André ter Stegen.

Fortunately for Xavi’s men, new recruit Ferran Torres came to the rescue down at the other end.

In just his second game, the former Manchester City man scored his first goal for Barcelona with a stunning curling effort of his own.

Despite more lunging attacks throughout the first half, things stood 1-1 at the break leaving everything to play for.

Coming out afterward, both sides tussled for control. The visitors continued to hold a comfortable amount of possession but the hosts had over triple the amount of chances to score next.

Brothers Nico and Iñaki Williams, in particular, came the closest but their efforts fell short. Barcelona meanwhile brought on Ansu Fati, Frenkie de Jong, and Nico for support.

Then in the dying moments of the match things took a dramatic twist.

Athletic’s pressure eventually cracked Barcelona and Iñigo Martinez poked a loose ball over the line for 2-1 after Gerard Pique failed to clear it. Yet with seconds remaining, Pedri smashed a goal home to level things up.

However, Barcelona’s luck wouldn’t last long in extra time. Unfortunately for the visitors, Fati was forced off in tears after picking up a new injury and minutes later VAR called a handball against Jordi Alba allowing Muniain to seal things 3-2 from the spot.