Athletic levelled after being 0-2 down, but Osasuna capitalised on the Lions' errors to bring an end to our Copa defence
Athletic Club's Copa defence comes to an end in the last 16 after a tough 2-3 defeat to Osasuna in which we were made to pay for mistakes made at both ends of the pitch.
Defensive mistakes led to Osasuna's goals. Athletic had fought back to make it 2-2 after going 0-2 down and they even had chances to complete the comeback before Ante Budimir scored the visitors' third.
The Lions went for it until the end, but it wasn't to be.
This is a difficult tournament. One of the toughest in the world. Before this defeat, Athletic had reached the semi-final for five seasons in a row - an unbelievable streak.
The truth is that three fateful minutes completely turned the match on its head. In the 39th minute, Iñaki Williams forced a fine save Sergio Herrera after a great pass from Alex Berenguer. Seconds later, Osasuna countered with Jesus Areso playing in Aimar Oroz for Osasuna's first.
It got worse in the 42nd minute. A bad backpass to Julen Agirrezabala led to the goalkeeper bringing down Budimir in the box. The Croatian made no mistake from the boz.
Athletic caught a huge break in first-half stoppage time, when Nico Williams scored from his brother's cross.
Ernesto Valverde's side came out charged up after break, with Yeray Álvarez replacing Aitor Paredes in defence. The no.5 and Mikel Jauregizar both headed wide before latter found Oscar de Marcos marauding down the right flank, the right-back then fired a rocked past Sergio Herrera.
The Lions had several chances to make it 3-2. Jauregizar almost scored after a cross from Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta. Budimir then chipped Julen, but Dani Vivian raced back to clear it off the line.
Osasuna's striker was a constant nuisance and he got the winner in the 70th minute when Julen palmed Ruben García's shot into the Croatian's path.
The time needed to treat a Sergio Herrera injury disrupted the Lions' rhythm further as they set about finding another equaliser.
A disappointing evening, but this Athletic side still has a lot to play for in LaLiga and the Europa League.
Now it's time to all pull together and keep moving forward.
