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If you're familiar with the history of the Copa del Rey, you'll know that there are often some big clubs on this front. More than ten years ago, Real Madrid lost to the Spanish team in the Copa del Rey, and the score was still 0:4, which made Florentino in the stands eager to find a crack in the ground to get into. And Barcelona is often upset in the Copa del Rey. Specific to this season, Real Madrid and Barcelona have not gone far in the Copa del Rey. When the semi-finals are decided, everyone must have exclaimed that the winner of this season's Copa del Rey may be produced from a civilian team. This is completely different from the cup competition situation of the other big four leagues.
And now, the two teams that have reached the final have been produced, which confirms this conclusion. Atletico Madrid, the only team in the top four teams in La Liga, was also brushed off. You must know that Atletico Madrid eliminated Real Madrid and Sevilla, two strong opponents, one after another, and came to the semifinals. Being terminated at this juncture is equivalent to working in vain, wasting energy and sacrificing physical strength, and in the end there will be no benefits. If you had known this, it would have been better to focus on the league and the Champions League like Real Madrid.
It's no wonder, though, that Atletico did run into trouble in the semi-finals. The team that eliminated them can be called Atletico's first nemesis this season.
Athletic Bilbao.
Fans who are familiar with the history of La Liga should know that Athletic Bilbao is actually a traditional powerhouse, and has won the La Liga championship many times in history, but in the past 30 years, they can only be regarded as a mid-range team in La Liga, and Real Madrid Barcelona Atletico Madrid are not at the same level at all, and they occasionally play the Champions League to enjoy it. But Athletic Bilbao has a tough style of play, and it is indeed a team that several giants in La Liga are very afraid of.
In the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey this time, Athletic Bilbao defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 away from home in the first leg and occupied a favorable situation. However, what is unexpected is that in the second leg, Atletico Madrid did not even have the ability to resist at all, and lost 0:3, which made Athletic Bilbao's process of reaching the final seem extremely easy. Atletico Madrid with a clean sheet over two legs, there aren't many teams in Europe that can do that, right? Don't forget, Atletico Madrid faced Real Madrid in La Liga this season, and they still won 1 and drew 1 in the two legs. Co-authored Athletic Bilbao through Atletico Madrid, forming a dimensionality reduction blow to Real Madrid.
1:0, 3:0 is not over, on December 16, 2023, in the first leg of La Liga between the two sides, Athletic Bilbao beat Atletico Madrid 2:0. In just two and a half months, Athletic Bilbao have won three consecutive victories against Atletico Madrid, scoring six goals and not conceding a single goal, and you still say that they are not Atletico's nemesis this season? Although Atletico Madrid is not too impressive this season, at least they are currently in the Champions League zone, and there are not many teams that can make them suffer big losses. But Athletic Bilbao is one of them, perhaps, the only one.
In addition, at present, the biggest impact on Atletico Madrid's Champions League place is Athletic Bilbao, who are in fifth place, only three points away from Atletico Madrid. Speaking of which, we have to mention one more game. There is one last meeting between the two sides this season, and that is the second leg of La Liga on April 28, 2024. Atletico Madrid, sitting at home, needs to play the ultimate showdown with Athletic Bilbao. Considering that the two sides are separated by three points, and the schedule of the two teams is about the same level of difficulty until April 28, it is likely that this game will be a nodal battle to establish the positions of the two sides. If Atletico are still kept clean sheets, then they are likely to fall into the Europa League, and at the same time, Athletic Bilbao, the hat of Atletico Madrid's nemesis, will not be able to take off this season.