"It's true that we lacked scoring opportunities; they defended solidly and well. We lacked attacking play. We didn't create too many chances. It's not the first semi-final I've lost."
"When the scoreline was 0-0, I thought we could push but then the penalty came, and that was it. I didn't know what was happening. The fourth official told me it was a possible penalty in our area. It was a penalty... which can happen on any corner. Nobody saw it, and then the VAR official spotted it. A penalty came out of nowhere."
"They played a better tie than Athletic. They came closer to winning at San Mames and here, although on points... they were just a little closer to keeping the game alive."
Real Sociedad progressed to the Copa del Rey final after eliminating Athletic Bilbao with a 2-0 aggregate victory. Following their 1-0 first-leg win, La Real secured the tie through Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty in the 87th minute of the second leg, awarded after VAR review for a shirt pull incident. Athletic manager Ernesto Valverde criticized his team's attacking performance, noting they lacked scoring opportunities and created few chances. Valverde expressed surprise at the late penalty decision, describing it as emerging unexpectedly. He acknowledged Real Sociedad played the better football across both matches, though he felt frustrated by the controversial nature of the decisive goal.
#copa-del-rey-semi-final #real-sociedad #athletic-bilbao #var-controversy #football-penalty-decision
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