Tag: Athletic Bilbao

Raphinha netted twice as Barcelona strolled into the Spanish Super Cup final with a dominant 5-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

The holders and record 15-time champions will face either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, who meet Thursday, in Sunday’s final.

Hansi Flick began with teenage star Lamine Yamal on the bench, but his team was still able to ease to a comfortable victory at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah.

The La Liga leaders have now won nine matches in a row across all competitions, and Athletic, enduring a difficult season, were ripped to shreds.

Last season, Barcelona went on to win La Liga and the Copa del Rey after Flick’s side won the Spanish Super Cup for the first trophy of the German’s reign, and the coach had said he wanted to use the competition as a springboard for more success again.

“It’s us who make games easy or hard — when we’re playing well, doing things right, defending well, attacking well, the game is easier,” Raphinha told Movistar.

The forward has been in fine form since returning from a hamstring injury that kept him out for around two months.

“I am always looking to be at my best level, and I will never say I’m at my best,” continued Raphinha.

“I will keep looking, keep trying to have a season that, if not perfect, is almost perfect, always looking for the best for the team.”

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Ferran Torres bundled home the opener after 22 minutes with a stroke of fortune after Fermin Lopez’s bungled shot fell kindly for him.

Barca sliced Athletic open with a more attractive second goal, with Raphinha cutting the ball back for Lopez to blast into the top corner, for the first of three goals in eight minutes.

Swedish winger Roony Bardghji got the third after being given a helping hand by Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon, who somehow mishandled the low shot under his own body and into the net.

It offered Spain coach Luis de la Fuente food for thought, given Simon is his number one and Barca stopper Joan Garcia is knocking at the door ahead of the World Cup, although the Euro 2024 winning manager was absent with the flu.

Raphinha lashed into the top left corner for Barcelona’s fourth after 38 minutes as the Catalans attacked relentlessly.

Oihan Sancet struck the post at the other end with Athletic’s best chance on a miserable night for the Basque side, who last won the competition in 2021.

Brazil international Raphinha grabbed his second soon after the break with a lethal finish from close range to seal Barca’s win.

“We have to say sorry to the fans who came here, we were not up to the level today, there’s nothing else we can do than say sorry,” said Athletic captain Inaki Williams.

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Kylian Mbappe scored twice and set up another as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to cut Barcelona’s La Liga lead back down to one point on Wednesday.

Xabi Alonso’s side curtailed a run of three consecutive league draws away from home with one of their best displays of the season at Athletic’s San Mames.

Mbappe opened the scoring early on as Trent Alexander-Arnold provided his first La Liga assist, with Eduardo Camavinga nodding in the second before the break.

French superstar Mbappe slammed home another in the second half for his 16th league goal of the season to seal Madrid’s victory.

One negative for Los Blancos were apparent injuries for Alexander-Arnold and Camavinga in the second half, with both players replaced.

Mbappe missed a penalty in the same fixture last winter while still finding his feet at Madrid, later saying that was his “rock bottom”, but on his return, Athletic found themselves up against arguably the best player in the world.

Mbappe almost sent Real Madrid ahead in the fourth minute, but Unai Simon made a smart save at his near post, and then parried a Vinicius effort.

Madrid came out of the blocks strongly against eighth-place Athletic and took the lead in the seventh minute, through a brilliant Mbappe goal.

Alexander-Arnold picked out the forward with a fine long pass, and Mbappe drifted menacingly towards the box and produced a perfect finish to beat Simon.

Gorka Guruzeta fired over and forced Thibaut Courtois into a good save at the other end, on one of Athletic’s rare forays forward.

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Their best chance came when Nico Williams and Alex Berenguer combined, but Courtois produced a superb stop to deny the latter.

It woke Madrid back up, and they took control once again, threatening twice through Vinicius, who was connecting efficiently with Mbappe.

The Brazilian winger hit the outside of the post with a low effort from a tight angle, with Simon out of his goal attempting to block him off.

The goalkeeper made an excellent save to thwart Vinicius one-on-one a few minutes later after Eder Militao sent him through on goal.

Madrid grabbed their second before the interval at the end of a fine team move, with Mbappe nodding Alexander-Arnold’s cross back across goal for Camavinga to head home from point-blank range.

Courtois tipped over Mikel Jauregizar’s fierce effort from range early in the second half to stop Athletic from earning a foothold in the game.

The first of two sour notes came for Madrid when Alexander-Arnold pulled up with an apparent muscular injury and had to be replaced by Raul Asencio.

Mbappe put the game beyond doubt with another long-range effort, which flew in at the near post for his 25th goal across all competitions. Simon might have done more to keep it out, perhaps undoing some of his earlier good work.

Camavinga was taken off hurt later on in another potential injury blow for former Real Sociedad player Alonso, on an otherwise dream outing in the Basque Country against his former rivals.

The coach even got a warm embrace from Vinicius when he substituted the Brazilian, despite the player seeming to be at loggerheads with him over the past few weeks.

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Newcastle secured a third successive Champions League win as Dan Burn’s thunderous header inspired a cathartic 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

Burn struck in eye-catching style in the first half at St James’ Park, and Joelinton netted after the interval to wrap up Newcastle’s fifth successive home win in all competitions.

Newcastle’s dismal 3-1 defeat at lowly West Ham on Sunday left the Magpies languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and prompted a painful bout of soul-searching on Tyneside.

But although they have struggled domestically, Eddie Howe’s side have three wins from four games in the Champions League this season, with their only loss coming in the opening match against Barcelona.

Ahead of trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen in their next two league phase fixtures, sixth-placed Newcastle are firmly in the hunt to secure the top-eight place that guarantees automatic qualification for the last 16.

Howe will hope Newcastle’s European success serves as a springboard for a winning run in the Premier League, starting at Brentford on Sunday.

“Really pleased with today. It was an important response to West Ham. I don’t think it was us at our best, but we’re in a good position now in this competition,” Howe said.

“It’s been good to have a game off the back of West Ham. We’ve put that away now. But it’s a bigger test when you return to the Premier League.”

Saluting Burn’s goal, Howe said it reminded him of the defender’s header in last season’s League Cup final win against Liverpool.

“It was very reminiscent of the cup final. It was from a distance. It was a training ground move, so well done to all the coaches involved in that,” he said.

“Across the board, it’s about consistency in our performance wherever we play. Now we go away in the Champions League. Marseille will be incredibly difficult.”

Newcastle’s lacklustre loss at West Ham had sparked accusations that Howe’s team are developing a habit of playing down to the level of their opponents.

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Burn added to that perception this week when he said, “everybody knows we will turn up” against Bilbao.

The England centre-back was true to his word as he put Newcastle ahead in the 11th minute.

Kieran Trippier’s free-kick picked out Burn in space in the penalty area, and he punished Bilbao’s slack marking with a superb header that curled into the far corner from 10 yards.

Even legendary Newcastle striker Alan Shearer, watching with a broad grin in the stands, would have been proud of such a sublime finish.

Bilbao briefly mounted a determined response to that blow and twice came close to drawing level as sloppy Newcastle conceded possession too easily.

Unai Gomez raced clear of the flat-footed Newcastle defence and fired against the near post.

With Newcastle on the ropes, Adama Boiro lashed a ferocious strike off the woodwork from 18 yards.

Howe’s men squandered a chance to increase their lead when Nick Woltemade climbed highest for a header that whistled wide from Harvey Barnes’ cross.

Newcastle suffered a blow when England winger Anthony Gordon limped off with a recurrence of a hip injury late in the first half.

But they ignored that setback to double their advantage in the 49th minute.

Barnes cleverly worked space on the left side of the Bilbao area and lofted a cross into the six-yard box, where Joelinton thumped his header past Unai Simon for his first goal in nine games.

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Athletic Bilbao will sign Aymeric Laporte after the world football governing body FIFA changed their stance on Thursday.

The Basque side tried to bring in the Spanish defender from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on September 1, but the move was not completed before the transfer deadline.

FIFA last week rejected a request from the Spanish football federation (RFEF) to make an exception for Laporte’s move, but Athletic said the RFEF request has now been granted after they sought to overturn the decision.

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Spanish media said Al-Nassr had not filled in the details of the transfer online into FIFA’s Transfer Matching System.

“Athletic Club would like to report that FIFA has authorised the RFEF to obtain the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from the Saudi Arabian football federation,” said Athletic in a statement.

#NuevaFotoDePerfil pic.twitter.com/7X5vbXRJnA

— Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) September 11, 2025

“Once the ITC is issued, Aymeric Laporte can be registered with Athletic Club.”

Laporte, 31, left Athletic for Manchester City in 2018 before joining Al-Nassr in 2023.

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Fede Valverde scored a stunning goal in the 93rd minute, helping Real Madrid maintain their pursuit of Barcelona in the La Liga title race with a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Madrid stayed four points behind Barcelona after Valverde smashed into the top corner with a sliced, swerving effort.

After the Champions League elimination by Arsenal, it looked like Madrid were set for another devastating result until the Uruguay international’s stoppage-time intervention.

“Fede has such a good shot… in training yesterday he shot a ball that looked like it was going out and then it picked up a curl like that and you go ‘how do you shoot like that?'” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Athletic Bilbao, who reached the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday by beating Rangers, rotated heavily.

Despite that, the Basque side proved a hard nut for Madrid to crack, especially with their top goalscorer Kylian Mbappe both suspended and recovering from an ankle problem.

The forward was whistled by some fans for his failure to help the team overcome Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek when he was shown watching the game on the stadium screens.

“Valverde was key in this game because he scored the goal,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “The team was good, a bit slower in the first half but very good in the second.”

“We wanted to win, we wanted to react after the elimination against Arsenal — the team came through and Fede was the key player.”

Vinicius, who was previously criticised by Ancelotti for a lack of defensive work ethic, was running hard on the left, which fans at the Santiago Bernabeu appreciated.

The Brazilian has struggled for form at times this season but was Madrid’s brightest player against Athletic, giving Unai Nunez a difficult night.

Real Madrid played with intensity after their European elimination, trying to keep La Liga in their sights after Barcelona made a late comeback to beat Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Rodrygo Goes came close early in the second half before Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon saved from Eduardo Camavinga.

The hosts began to push Athletic deeper and started to create better chances.

Vinicius bent a delicious cross with the outside of his boot into the six-yard box for Jude Bellingham to meet, but Simon made an excellent save to tip over his header.

Fede Valverde fired narrowly wide of the near post, and Vinicius did find the net, but Endrick was offside in the build-up.

Bellingham appealed for a penalty after going down softly in the area and then fired over from close range in the final stages.

It was the kind of chance the England international managed to turn into late match-winning goals last season as he inspired Madrid to La Liga and Champions League glory.

Instead, it was Valverde who took up that role with his sublime blast, which left Simon with no chance.

“Valverde has an extraordinary shot,” said Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde. “We had a really good game (but) they are individually very good, Vinicius was very good.”

Madrid’s victory offers them hope of salvaging their season and a morale boost ahead of next weekend’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.

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Surprise La Liga title contenders Girona suffered another dent in a 3-2 defeat by Athletic Bilbao on Monday, with Alex Berenguer striking twice for the Basque side.

After leaders Real Madrid were held to a draw by Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, the Catalan minnows, second, hoped to cut the six-point gap but lost in a gripping clash at San Mames.

Michel Sanchez’s side are now only two points ahead of champions Barcelona and seven in front of fifth-place Athletic, chasing a top-four spot.

Girona have failed to win any of their last three league matches.

After Berenguer sent Athletic ahead, Viktor Tsygankov levelled for Girona.

However, Berenguer and Inaki Williams quickly netted for the hosts and although Eric Garcia pulled one back, Girona could not find the equaliser.

“We lacked a bit of determination in the final third … I think the second half was good,” said Girona coach Michel, who watched from a box as he was banned from the touchline.

“We have to continue, we can’t ask the team to always win and we have to keep fighting to stay up there.”

Athletic took the lead inside two minutes after Girona playmaker Aleix Garcia played a dangerous ball across the face of his own area.

Berenguer intercepted and drilled home inside the near post, catching out Paulo Gazzaniga.

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Girona lacked their usual zip, still chastened from last weekend’s heavy 4-0 thrashing by Real Madrid.

The Catalans pulled level at the start of the second half when Tsygankov turned home Ivan Martin’s cross.

Girona did not keep parity for long with Berenguer netting his second following another Girona mistake.

Miguel Gutierrez dallied on the ball and was robbed by Gorka Guruzeta, who crossed for Berenguer to finish.

Girona’s defence was all at sea as Inaki Williams netted Athletic’s third.

Eric Garcia headed home from Aleix Garcia’s cross to give Girona the chance to rescue a point.

They almost did deep in stoppage time but Athletic defender Dani Vivian brilliantly headed John Solis’ shot off the line to safety.

“The reality has always been that our objective was to reach the Champions League, we’re still there,” Eric Garcia told DAZN.

“We have to continue, we can’t fool ourselves — we’ve come from a tricky run of games.”

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Real Madrid kicked off their La Liga campaign on a high as they handed Atheltic Bilbao a solid 2-0 defeat, in their opening game on Saturday.

Real Madrid started off the game strongly, as they gained an early advantage with a goal in the 28th minute thanks to Rodrygo, assisted by Dani Carvajal. A mere eight minutes later, Jude Bellingham scored his first goal for the club in his La Liga debut giving them a formidable lead of 2-0.

Notably, the 19-year-old English midfielder Bellingham joined Real Madrid this summer from Borussia Dortmund at a base transfer fee of €103 million.

A clean sheet for Andriy Lunin, who was standing in for the injured goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois kept Athletic Bilbao in their tracks as they failed to score, and Real Madrid’s 2-0 advantage remained intact until the final whistle.

In another La Liga fixture, Raíllo Arenas’s 70th-minute equalizer lifted Real Mallorca to hold Las Palmas for a 1-1 stalemate.

Las Palmas gained an early advantage after Jonathan Viera scored a goal off a penalty in the 29^th minute after Copete was given a yellow card.

Both teams made desperate efforts to fire in the tie-breaker but ultimately settled for a draw.

In another La Liga fixture, Real Sociedad were pulled back for a stalemate by Girona, courtesy of Artem Dovbyk’s second-half header.

Real Sociedad got off to a flying start, thanks to an early goal by Takefusa Kubo in the fifth minute.

Sociedad were flying high on their lead and appeared to be in a position to win their La Liga clash. However, Artem Dovbyk pulled them back with a brilliant header in the 72nd minute.

Sociedad made several attempts to gain a late advantage, but all in vain as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

It is worth mentioning here that defending champions Barcelona will kick off their campaign against Getafe on Sunday.

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