Athletic Bilbao face Real Sociedad this evening at La Cartuja in what will be a historic Copa del Rey final. The game was supposed to have taken place last season, but was postponed in the hope that by April of 2021 supporters would be able to attend, a hugely important consideration for both Basque clubs.
That still isn’t possible unfortunately, with the game taking place down in Seville without any public. A lot of the talk pre-game was centred around whether La Real would give Athletic a guard of honour, a typically contentious thing to do when playing a bitter rival. Athletic beat Barcelona to lift the Supercopa de Espana this past January, as well as reaching the final of this season’s Copa.
Athletic have a storied history in the competition, winning it 23 times. They last won it in 1984, however, meaning that they now have two shots at what could be a historic victory. La Real have won the Copa just twice, with their most recent triumph coming in 1987. They’ve fallen off domestically a little this season, unable to maintain their lightning start, so will be keen to give their best.
Undoubtedly a game that’s going to be contested intensely on the pitch, there was unfortunately ugly scenes in the streets of Bilbao in the hours leading up to kick-off, with onlookers capturing misbehaviour on Calle Licenciado Pozas leading up to San Mames.
Sadly things getting a little ugly in Bilbao. These scenes from the famous Calle Licenciado Pozas which leads up to San Mamés https://t.co/wDiooEecjy
— Fútbol es la leche (@futboleslaleche) April 3, 2021
