Atlético de Madrid

Athletic take charge of Copa semi-final tie

Berenguer's penalty sees the Lions take first blood, but there's a lot of work left to do at a tantalising second leg in Bilbao

A heroic Athletic, with a resilient display, won 0-1 in their semi-final first leg at the Metropolitano. Ernesto Valverde's Lions will have the advantage at San Mamés, where we will find out who gets a place in the final.

A tremendous second leg awaits, but Alex Berenguer's goal from the spot gives the Zurigorri a crucial edge over Atlético.

No pain, no gain. It was always going to be tough, but Athletic - backed by a thousand fans who gave their all and a monumental Julen Agirrezabala - conquered a stadium that has not seen defeat since January 2023.

The Lions found it hard to settle, Atlético often reminding us why teams don't normally win at the Metropolitano, but Athletic slowly started to find their feet. In the 21st minute, a brilliant pass from Gorka Guruzeta to Beñat Prados led to Reinildo fouling the midfielder in the box.

Berenguer sent Jan Oblak the wrong way and Athletic took the lead. The winger threatened again before the half-time whistle.

Diego Simeone's team pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half. Samuel Lino had a chance, while Iñigo Lekue cleared an Angel Correa effort off the line.

Athletic almost made it 0-2 when Unai Gomez tested Oblak with a long-range effort and Asier Villalibre fired the rebound against the side netting.

There was a scare at the very end as the referee gave a penalty for a foul on Álvaro Morata before VAR overturned it due to the striker being in an offside position during the build-up.

The return leg comes to Bilbao on Thursday February 29th.