Barcelona are the champions of the 2020-21 Copa del Rey after crushing Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday. Ronald Koeman’s team dominated the chances but found it hard to break down the opposing defense until the hour mark where Antoine Griezmann scored the winner. Lionel Messi scored twice for Barca, as the club found the back of the net four times in 13 minutes.
It never felt like Athletic were in it during the second half as Barca dominated the chances and were aggressive and attentive in defense. The underdogs go home deflated once again after losing their second Copa del Rey final this month. The 2019-20 final, which was postponed for about a year thanks to the pandemic, was played earlier in the month with Athletic losing to rival Real Sociedad.
For Barca, it’s a big win for them as they get their first trophy under Koeman, boosting their morale for the stretch run in La Liga.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
Griezmann delivers in a big spot
When you think of Griezmann at Barca, it is all about him failing to show up. He’s been so underwhelming since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019. Nothing shows that more than his four goals in 16 Champions League matches. At Atletico Madrid, he had at least four in every single UCL campaign from 2015-2019.
So, could this be the time he turned the corner by showing up in a big game?
He was smart, assertive and delivered when it mattered most. After missing an early chance in the second half from point-blank range, he continued to fight, continued to make good runs and was rewarded with the trophy-clinching goal.
Barca fans will hope this is just the beginning of an in-form Griezmann at the club, one they will need to win La Liga. It’s hard to say a guy with back-to-back 15 goal seasons has been a disappointment, but he’s been expected to push well over 20 a season. If this form continues, he’ll do just that.
Messi proves he is still the world’s best
Any adjective you want will work — brilliant, dominant — whatever you choose. Messi was all of that and more in this one. While his two goals were stellar and put this game away, it was all about what he did before that.
Just take Griezmann’s winner, where Messi masterfully got the ball out wide to Frenkie de Jong for the assist.
Then, on his first, it was the passing and run, then the naughty cut inside the box that allowed him to comically pass the ball into the far side of the goal. Take a look:
Messi did it all. From the opening minutes to the final whistle, it was one of his better performances of the season. And with it comes the trophy, his seventh Copa del Rey trophy.
Marcelino’s tactics didn’t work this time
Two years ago, Marcelino guided Valencia to the Copa del Rey title by beating Barca in the final, 2-1. It was a match where Los Che prioritized defending and aimed to build up in attack quickly, especially on the counter. That didn’t come close to happening here because of Barcelona. Their passing accuracy was nearly 95 percent for the majority of the match, with the team handling Athletic’s pressure quite well.
With one shot on goal, and not even 25 percent possession, it was a night to forget.
It was almost like Athletic were playing a man down with how dominant Barca were on the ball. Whether it was Oscar Mingueza getting forward to serve as an outlet or Busquets’ well-timed passes to thread defenders, Athletic had no answers.
For now, they’ll just face questions as to why it all went wrong, especially after beating Barca in the Spanish Super Cup earlier this year.
