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FULL-TIME, Athletic 1-0 Barcelona: Barça did not deserve to lose and had a clear penalty denied by the referees plus two clear chances in front of goal. This football thing is really painful sometimes.
GOAL, Athletic 1-0 Barcelona (Williams 90’+3): Athletic take the lead. Cross from the right, Iñaki Williams heads it in. Heartbreaking.
75min: It’s all Barça and somehow there’s not a goal yet. This is definitely very nervous right now.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Athletic 0-0 Barcelona: Come on, boys! Let’s find a goal and win this second half!
HALFTIME, Athletic 0-0 Barcelona: Very intense, nervous knockout game, as it should be. On the balance of play Barça have been slightly better but this has been as tough as advertised at San Mamés. If you’re a neutral, this is fun.
30min: Barça in complete control here and working the ball very well, but they’re missing the final pass to create a real chance.
GOAL DISALLOWED (10min): Iñaki Williams thought he’d given his team the lead, but he was offside at the far post after an Athletic defender deflected the corner kick.
KICKOFF! Athletic 0-0 Barcelona: Come on, boys! Let’s go get a spot in the semis!
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, De Jong; Roberto, Messi, Ansu Fati (4-3-3)
Bench: Iñaki Peña (GK), Umtiti, Firpo, Arthur, Vidal, Collado, Griezmann
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Starting XI: Simón; Yeray, Núñez, Martínez; Capa, Dani García, Vesga, Yuri; Raúl García, Muniain; Williams (3-4-2-1)
Bench: Ezkieta (GK), San José, Larrazabal, Lekue, Ibai Gómez, Aduriz, Villalibre
WELCOME TO SAN MAMÉS!!! The spectacular home of Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Country is the site of a huge Copa del Rey quarterfinal between the hosts and Barcelona, who come into this one in crisis off the pitch and need a big win to right the ship. This should be a good one, and you are welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2019-20 Copa del Rey, Quarterfinals
Date/Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Friday)
Venue: San Mamés, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM COPA DEL REY
How to watch on TV: StarTimes World Football (Nigeria), Not Available (USA, UK, India), Cuatro (Spain), others
How to stream: ESPN+ (USA), DAZN (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, be careful with the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!