Lionel Messi Fan

This article is a review of the wonderful Spanish Copa del Rey final which took place in Valencia between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.

Description of the five goals

The match at the Mestalla Stadium on Wednesday night was surely a match that marked the history of Spanish soccer, as Barcelona now top the King’s Cup chart with25 cups in their hands; 1 cup ahead of their opponents in the final, Athletic Bilbao.

Probably, it was not only the fact that Barcelona won their first cup which pleased the fans, but also the number of goals that was produced in the game. Let’s take a look at all the 5 goals to enjoy one more time the glorious moment of Barcelona.

Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Barcelona – Casquerro 9’

It was Bilbao who took the lead first in the game, and impressively, it took them less than 10 minutes register their first goal. A corner from the right side sent the ball deep into the penalty area; and fortunately for the Basques, Casquerro was there to make a first-class header which allowed the ball the fly into the roof the Valdes’ net. 1-0 was the score line in favor of Athletic Bilbao.

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Barcelona – Yaya Toure 30’

Barcelona knew they couldn’t give up after all the hard work they did throughout the competition. At the half-hour mark, the Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure dribbled past two players before firing a shot low into the Bilbao net. It was a brilliant strike from the young African player; however, it is true that the defense could have done better – for even a slight deflection wasn’t able to place the shot wide. Luckily for the Catalans, the score had been leveled to 1-1.

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Barcelona – Lionel Messi 54’

Everyone knew that another goal for Barcelona would have given Pep Guardiola’s men the chance of imposing themselves. Well, this did not take too long to happen; thus, it was just a matter of patience. Almost ten minutes in the second half, the world’s second best player Lionel Messi created a chance for Eto’o to steal the lead; nevertheless, the Cameroonian’s shot wasn’t centered enough to beat the keeper.

Eventually, the keeper’s sloppy save sent the ball back at the edge of the 18-yard box, and Messi was the right man at the right spot to crush the ball into the crowed net. The Barcelona playmaker had stolen the spotlight, making the score 2-1.

Athletic Bilbao 1-3 Barcelona – Bojan Kikrik 57’

The Catalans then kept inflicting pressure on their Basques opponents. Three minutes after Messi had scored the second goal for his team, the young player Bojan received a nice true ball from the midfield to find himself almost one-on-one with the goalie.

Remarkably, the 18-year old did not make a simple finish, instead, he decided to add style to his shot; sweeping the ball into the bottom corner of the net even before everyone thought he would. This third goal for Barcelona definitely killed the Basques’ spirit, and strength of mind.

Athletic Bilbao 1-4 Barcelona – Xavi Hernandez 63’

That night was a night that will certainly never be forgotten by the Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez. Indeed, Xavi wasn’t the only one to score on the night, however, his goal was arguably the most memorable one of all. His free kick from 25 yards out, in the 63rd minute of the game, totally destroyed Athletic Bilbao.

At that moment, everyone who watched the game in Spain knew that Barcelona had well beaten the Basques to make sure that they held what could be the first out of three cups for them, this season.

In the end, fans can really feel happy that their team was able to break the curse which prevented them from winning cups; yet, they still need to be cautious ahead of their next games in the league, and their game in the Champions League final against title holders Manchester United.

Written by Isaac Asante

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