Athletic Bilbao faced Real Sociedad this evening and coach Marcelino stressed before kick-off that Athletic would give the Copa del Rey champions a guard of honour just three days after La Real had beaten Athletic to win the Copa. The man from Asturias was true to his word, too.
Athletic Club's players give Copa del Rey winners Real Sociedad a guard of honour just days after they faced each other in the final 👏
This Basque derby isn't likely to be as friendly once it gets underway, though! 👀
Watch it LIVE now on LaLigaTV 📺 pic.twitter.com/sPY2Qqrde0
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) April 7, 2021
The game itself, however, was as tight as aforementioned final, finishing 1-1 at the final whistle. Athletic took the lead in the 85th minute through Asier Villalibre, only for Roberto Lopez to equalise four minutes later and ensure that the spoils were shared.
Last weekend’s game was the long-delayed 2020 final, a game both clubs had hoped to have been able to play with their supporters in attendance given it was historically the first-ever Basque derby with a title directly at stake. Marcelino and Athletic get another bite of the apple the week after next, however, when they face on-fire Barcelona in the 2021 edition.
Athletic have been flying since Marcelino took over at San Mames at the beginning of January, winning the Supercopa de Espana at the expense of Barcelona. They lag ten points behind La Real in the league table, however, a distance they couldn’t trim tonight. La Real sit fifth, while Athletic are down in tenth.
