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.
