Athletic Bilbao end Atletico Madrid’s 28-match unbeaten streak at home in 1st leg of Copa semifinal

Athletic Bilbao’s Alex Berenguer scores their goal from the penalty spot during the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao at Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain, on Feb. 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 08 February 2024
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Athletic Bilbao end Atletico Madrid’s 28-match unbeaten streak at home in 1st leg of Copa semifinal

  • Alex Berenguer converted a first-half penalty kick to give Athletic the tight victory at the Metropolitano Stadium
  • The second leg will be on Feb. 29 at Athletic’s San Mames Stadium

MADRID: Athletic Bilbao ended Atletico Madrid’s 28-match unbeaten streak at home with a 1-0 win in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday.

Alex Berenguer converted a first-half penalty kick to give Athletic the tight victory at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Atletico hadn’t lost at the Metropolitano since a 1-0 defeat against Barcelona in January last year in the Spanish league. Diego Simeone’s team had only two draws since then, both against Getafe in the Spanish league.

“It’s always tough to win in this stadium, they are always pressing forward and putting you on the defensive,” Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde said. “It was a typical Copa match and we came through in the end.”

Atletico thought they had a chance for a late equalizer when the referee called a penalty kick on Álvaro Morata in stoppage time, but video review determined that the Atletico striker was offside and reversed the call.

The hosts had almost evened the match in the 85th when Angel Correa’s shot was blocked by Athletic defender Íñigo Lekue at the goal line.

Berenguer scored the winner by converting a 25th-minute penalty after a hard sliding tackle by Atletico defender Reinildo on Athletic midfielder Beñat Prados.

“We did a lot of things right to win the match but the ball didn’t want to go in,” Atletico midfielder Koke Resurrección said. “They had their chance with the penalty kick and then defended well.”

The second leg will be on Feb. 29 at Athletic’s San Mames Stadium. Athletic beat Atletico 2-0 in a league match there in December.

“They got a very good result and we will need to try to find a way to overcome it in order to advance,” Simeone said. “It will be difficult, we will need to score two goals and that’s not easy. They have a significant advantage.”

Athletic eliminated Barcelona in the quarterfinals to reach the last four for the fifth straight season. The Basque Country team was runner-up in the Copa in 2019-20 and 2020-21. They last won the competition in 1984.

Athletic are the second most successful club in the Copa with 23 titles, eight less than Barcelona.

Atletico are playing in the last four of the Copa for the first time in seven seasons and are seeking their first title since 2013. They have 10 Copa trophies.

On Tuesday, Mallorca and Real Sociedad drew 0-0 in the first leg of the other semifinal. The return match will be on Feb. 27 at Sociedad’s stadium.

Mallorca hadn’t made it to the final since winning the Copa in 2003. Sociedad defeated Basque Country rival Athletic in the final in the 2019-20 season.

The semifinals is the only Copa stage being played in home-and-away matches.

The final will be in April in the La Cartuja Stadium in the southern city of Seville.


Kane scores as Bayern deliver comeback romp over Leipzig

Updated 17 January 2026
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Kane scores as Bayern deliver comeback romp over Leipzig

  • The victory restores Bayern’s 11-point lead atop the ladder over second-placed Borussia Dortmund
  • Leipzig took a first-half lead through Romulo, but Bayern kicked into gear after the break

LEIPZIG, Germany: Harry Kane scored his 21st goal of the Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich came from behind to win 5-1 at RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The victory restores Bayern’s 11-point lead atop the ladder over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, while continuing their record-breaking campaign.
Unbeaten Bayern have dropped just four points on their way to a record-equalling tally of 50 after 18 games. Bayern’s total of 71 goals scored is also a record at this stage of a German league season.
Leipzig took a first-half lead through Romulo, but Bayern kicked into gear after the break, Serge Gnabry, Kane, Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olize all scoring.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said Leipzig were “twice as good as we were” in the opening half, adding “but in the second-half — my god, the boys delivered.
“We weren’t afraid and we really went for it.”
Leipzig goalscorer Romulo said “we played 75 minutes really on top, then I don’t know what happened, we turned off our minds. We have to learn something out of that.”
Leipzig were strong early and broke through after 20 minutes when Romulo snuck past Bayern’s Tah to poke in an Antonio Nusa pass from close range.
The hosts were undone in the simplest fashion just after half-time. Dayot Upamecano picked Christoph Baumgartner’s pocket and fed Gnabry, who guided the ball into the bottom corner.
Bayern took the lead after 67 minutes, once again thanks to a Leipzig mistake.
Olize’s floated cross looked harmless until Ridle Baku lost his footing, allowing an unmarked Kane time and space to blast home.
With Leipzig’s resistance broken, Tah, Pavlovic and Olize all scored in the final 10 minutes, while Jamal Musiala returned late off the bench after a six-month injury absence.

- Can rescues Dortmund -
Earlier, an Emre Can penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time saved Borussia Dortmund’s blushes in a 3-2 home win against lowly St. Pauli.
In the dying moments, VAR found a foul on Germany forward Maximilian Beier, bringing Dortmund captain Can to the spot.
“What a rollercoaster ride,” Can told Sky Germany.
“We need to do much better to settle things down and to convert our chances,” he added.
The hosts overcame a poor first half when Julian Brandt tapped in from close range just before the break. Having created the opener, Karim Adeyemi gave Dortmund a two-goal buffer in the 54th minute, converting a Fabio Silva assist.
Rock-bottom St. Pauli had won just once since September but fought back into the game when James Sands and Ricky-Jade Jones scored inside 10 minutes midway through the second half to stun the hosts.
Deep into stoppage time, Jones caught Beier on the edge of the penalty area, allowing Can to convert nervelessly from the spot.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim’s Wouter Burger scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over flailing Bayer Leverkusen to climb past Leipzig into third in the table.
Burger swung in an excellent free-kick after nine minutes to give the hosts the three points.
“That was an important one,” Burger said of his free-kick. “I was practicing them a bit this morning.”
Relegation candidates last season, Hoffenheim are on track to qualify for Europe’s top competition for just the second time in their history, having last done so under now-Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann in 2017/18.
Leverkusen have now lost four of their past six, falling three points behind the Champions League placings.
Cologne beat Mainz 2-1 at home, Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 home draw with Heidenheim and hosts Hamburg were held to a scoreless draw by Borussia Moenchengladbach.