The promised Cup ends Athletic's journey

Athletic had to deal with the weight of favoritism, with the momentum but also the pressure of having one of the biggest displacements in Spanish football. The red and white tide in Seville encouraged but also carried the backs of a team with a golden history in the Cup, but up to five lost finals in the last fifteen years.

Mallorca, with nothing to lose, launched an attempt at the definitive surprise, the feat that would give them the second Cup title 21 years later with their classic tactical strength. Opposite, the vertigo of the Williams. Nico soon showed off his speed, after an erroneous long delivery from Mallorca. Losses were the key to the final for a lethal counterattack like Athletic's.

A lot of dispute, respect typical of a final and more control of the ball by Athletic, as expected. It was a chess duel, to apply patience when finding the cracks in the rival framework. The first quarter of an hour was consumed without the lions seeing a way to get their hands on that rock that Javier Aguirre has turned Mallorca into. Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, whom the Mexican pointed out as the opponent's most dangerous player in the build-up, led the way with a left-footed volley that Greif deflected as best he could.

The pirate Muriqi responded at the opposite door shortly after, also with his left, also from a distance. Aguirrezabala stretched to solve the first red-and-white problem in the final. It was a warning of what was to come, and that is that after a corner kick and a series of rejected balls, including Darder's shot solved by Aguirrezabala, the ball fell squarely to Dani Rodríguez, who shot to turn the final upside down. above.

Surprised by a hard blow, taking into account the Balearic mastery to protect any advantage, Athletic tried to overcome adversity and once again raise the spirits of its numerous and passionate fans. Guruzeta tested Greif's reflexes, going down like a cat to stop a shot from the Basque striker close to the post, very dangerous. Iñaki Williams redoubled Athletic's threat, as lacking speed as it lacked clarity in the final meters. However, Bilbao's anxiety continued to increase as the minutes passed. That was the great danger of favorite status.

Nico Williams finally saw the goal, after a great wall with Yuri and a precise shot that turned into a dead letter with the intervention of automatic play fire. The thunderstorm opened until the break, because without interruption Yuri took a shot that seemed like a goal from Copete and Nico crashed into the side of the net in another new demonstration that a large part of the Basque hopes in the They ultimately resided in his figure. A deflected shot by Guruzeta marked the epilogue of a first half that unleashed the ghosts of Athletic in the Cup finals of this century.

Athletic returned from the break with a scare, as Larin punished the space to crash into Aguirrezabala. However, the lions' doubts were cleared up by the wand of Nico Wiliams, who found the pass into the gap for Sancet's unmarking, always well linked to the goal. New game and madness among the red and white fans, freed from their fears to impose their numerical superiority based on decibels.

Balearic resistance

Mallorca lost steam, pushed by Athletic towards their own domains, although the tireless work of Muriqi rescued a good option with an improbable and poisoned shot from the Kosovar. Aguirre detected that his team's gasoline was running out and he put his legs into the midfield with Antonio Sánchez and Morlanes.

The Balearic team had lived half an hour ahead, but assumed that success involved an exercise in resistance that would lengthen the duel in balance waiting for opportunities such as Radonjic's deflected, bitten shot. Vasco managed to contain the rival's best moment and take the duel to extra time despite a header from Nico Williams in extremis that made the Bilbao fans dream of the desired title.

It was agony, nerves unleashed beyond midnight to resolve the final. Muniain had a free kick, as did Nico Williams, from close range. On the opposite side, Muriqi touched the goal, head down. However, the last word was said by the penalties, those that Aguirre signed in advance if he was proven right. It was not like that, because a round that is now history finally crowned Athletic. Worthy champion, as much as Mallorca would have been.