The final of the Copa de la Reina will be the Madrid derby. After Atlético’s exit in the first semi-final against Alhama, Real did not face much opposition from Athletic even in the Butarque match. With three goals in the first half, the first two goals from the essential Caroline Weir, in which the Scotsman showed his edge, and another from Cantabrian Athenia del Castillo, the white team resolved a match in which the Rosablancas appeared too soft. Without the veteran players on the pitch, Bilbaoense had no breath in the semi-finals.
The shining example came with Madrid’s fourth goal. Athletic took center, Oguiza lost possession when calling for a foul, which was not there, and the Meringue Bullets were already with the ball in the area, for Weir to score again after Zubieta’s error , a negative protagonist in several works. Afterwards, the Scotsman rested to think about Saturday’s final after completing his mission with a hat-trick.
Real didn’t need to dominate Athletic or create dozens of scoring chances to show their influence in the match. He had accurate arrivals and tightly controlled the game to score his goals. That was enough for him, as Athletic treats the ball well, but remains a growing group even after its best players have retired or sought accommodation on more powerful teams.
So by 6 minutes, Madrid had already taken the lead after an action from Feller, which Weir amazingly controlled, to beat Quinones on a perfectly executed chip. In the second, for the Scotsman, luck was somewhat on his side as, after an assist from the right, his shot clipped Zubieta and misguided the Rosiblanca goalkeeper.
Before the half-hour was reached, Madrid already had Athletic on the ropes, and the penalty was extended with a goal from Athinaia, who pushed the ball past Feller to cross from behind. Then, Torril’s players let down Athletic, who had the ball at his feet, but could barely pass through midfield due to Madrid’s high quality. The white team did not care that their opponent was tiring in the effort. Every time he pressed, he troubled the Bilbao defence, which lost Valdezet too soon.
The second half started with a defensive disaster for Athletic, who conceded a fourth down and the game ended there. With Misa, Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, bored in his zone, only Quiñones worked on various tasks, although Real decaffeinated the changes that he had, already thinking about the final against Atlético.
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