Barcelona are the champions of the Copa del Rey 2020-21 after crushing Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday. Ronald Koeman’s team dominated the chances, but it was difficult to break down the defensive defense until the hour in which 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 in the second half as Barca dominated the chances and were aggressive and attentive in defense. The underdogs are going home again after losing their second Copa del Rey final this month. The 2019-20 final, which was postponed by about a year thanks to the pandemic, was played earlier this month with Athletic losing to Real Sociedad.
For Barca, it’s a big win for them as they get their first trophy under Koeman, raising their morale for the stretch in La Liga.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Griezmann delivers in a big place
When you think of Griezmann at Barca, it’s about him not showing up. He has been so overwhelming since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2019. Nothing shows more than his four goals in 16 Champions League matches. At Atletico Madrid, he had at least four in each UCL campaign from 2015-2019.
So could this be the time he made the turn by appearing in a big game?
He was smart, assertive and satisfying when it mattered most. After missing an early chance in the second half of the standings, he continued to fight, continued to make good runs and was crowned with the trophy goal.
Fans of Barca will hope this is just the beginning of an in-form Griezmann at the club, one they need to win La Liga. It’s hard to say a man with 15 goal seasons in a row was a disappointment, but he is expected to score more than 20 per season. If this form continues, he will do it.
Messi proves he is still the best in the world
Any adjective you want will work – brilliant, dominant – whatever you choose. Messi was it all and more in this one. While she was two goal stars and chased this game away, it did everything he had done before.
Just take the winner from Griezmann, where Messi masterfully took the ball wide to Frenkie de Jong for help.
Then, at first, it was the passing and running, then the naughty cut in the box that enabled him to pass the ball comically on the other side of the goal. Look:
Messi did it all. From the first minutes to the final whistle, it was one of his better performances for the season. And with that comes the trophy, his seventh Copa del Rey trophy.
Marcelino’s tactics do not work this time
Two years ago, Marcelino led Valencia to the Copa del Rey title by beating Barca 2-1 in the final. It was an obvious ambition of Los Che to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. It did not happen nearly here because of Barcelona. Their pass accuracy was nearly 95 percent for most of the game, with the team handling Athletic’s pressure properly.
With one shot on goal, and not even 25 percent possession, it was a night to forget.
It was almost as if Athletic had played a man over how dominant Barca were on the ball. Whether Oscar Mingueza came forward to serve as an outlet, or Busquets’ consistent pass rate for defenders, Athletic had no answers.
For now, they will only have questions about why it all went wrong, especially after beating Barca in the Spanish Super Cup earlier this year.