CyD Leonesa - Athletic Club
- 16' ,27' Iván Calero
- 41' (p.) R. Sobrino
- Guruzeta 26' ,38'
- O. Sancet 45' (p.)
- Unai Gómez 104' (p.)
LocationReino de León, León
11,004 spectators
Sheer pride carries Athletic to the quarter-finals
Athletic went behind three times but qualify for the last eight thanks to an Unai Gomez penalty in extra time
Athletic Club defeated Cultural Leonesa 3-4 in extra time to reach the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Unai Gomez converted from the spot in the 103rd minute after Nico Williams was brought down in the box. It was just reward for the pride shown by the Lions, who had to dig deep on a difficult night.
Copa chaos reigned true in León. In the first half alone, Athletic needed to fight back from going behind three times, with two Ivan Calero goals and a penalty scored by Rubén Sobrino give Cultural the lead on three occasions.
Gorka Guruzeta brought the Zurigorri level twice with two powerful shots, before a moment of genius from Nico Williams led to penalty which Sancet tucked away just before half-time.
What Ernesto Valverde's team did not expect was to have to overcome another very serious, almost absurd, setback when the Lions were reduced to ten men in the 55th minute after Aitor Paredes was given a red card for protesting towards the referee.
The players pulled together and fought hard. Athletic almost took the lead when Gomez went close after being set up by Nico Williams. Iñigo Lekue even threatened with a volley from the edge of the box.
The drama intensified in extra time, as a VAR check saw Cultural's Yayo have a goal ruled out for offside in the 94th minute.
Athletic's fourth came just moments later. Unai Gomez hit the post with a great shot before Nico picked up the rebound and was fouled for the penalty that has kept Athletic's Copa dream alive.
