Athletic Bilbao shocked the world by eliminating first Barcelona then Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey but they could not follow that up with a win against Valencia last night. This is becoming a trend with Athletic Bilbao who are somewhat very dominant in the Copa del Rey but often fail to win the cup in the end.
Athletic Bilbao have played five finals of the Copa del Rey since 2009 and have lost all five of them. In fact, the last time they won the Cup was in 1984, thirty-eight years ago! That pattern needs to change for Los Leones (the Lions) as they prepare to square off with Valencia in about three weeks time for the second leg of the Kings Cup semifinal.
One has to admit that as it stands, Valencia has the advantage. First, they held Athletic Bilbao to a 1-1 draw away and they are going to be the home team in the reverse fixture. However for a team that eliminated both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao ought to still be considered the favourites to win the tie. It will leave a sour taste in the mouth if they fail to reach the final.
But while one cannot justifiably undermine the great work Athletic Bilbao did against the Spanish superpowers, Real Madrid and Barcelona, it is very safe to say neither of the two Spanish giants has been in their best form this season. Barcelona have struggled almost all season and Real Madrid are gunning for another La Liga title only because normal challengers Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have had a poor season so far. Real Madrid have not been as good as they were a few seasons ago!
Athletic Bilbao though cannot afford to lose their focus. They already lost one final to Real Madrid this season in the Supercopa España and they cannot afford to let another opportunity of a silverware slip through their fingers. They have three weeks to get their acts together and they must do so lest all the efforts in this competition go to waste.
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