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Barcelona knocked out of Cup as Athletic hit extra-time double
Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday as brothers Inaki and Nico Williams struck in extra time in a breathtaking quarter-final.
The hosts grabbed an early lead with a Gorka Guruzeta strike from a rebound inside the first minute but Barca managed to hit back before the break with two goals within five minutes.
Athletic's Yuri Berchiche attempted to clear the ball from his own six-yard box but it cannoned off Robert Lewandowski and into the empty net in the 27th minute.
Lamine Yamal then produced a moment of magic as he burst past three defenders to the edge of the box where he cut inside and slotted a brilliant strike just inside the far post.
Athletic, however, fought back after the break and levelled in the 49th minute with a towering header by Oihan Sancet from a splendid cross from the left by Nico Williams.
As Athletic pushed for a third, with the skilful Nico Williams creating all kinds of trouble for Barca's defence, they were often exposed on the counter and 16-year-old Yamal missed two easy chances from close range.
In extra time, Athletic turned their superiority into goals. First Inaki Williams fired home a rebound from his own close-range strike that came back off the post two minutes into added time before the break and Nico Williams secured the win in the last action of the game, with a fine curling strike into the top corner.
"Not even in the best of dreams I have seen this coming," Inaki Williams, who just hours earlier had arrived from the Ivory Coast, where he played in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, told TVE.
"Everything went perfectly today. Yesterday I couldn't imagine being here after a very hard blow (Ghana's elimination).
"I have to thank the club for helping me to be here as soon as possible and the fans for embracing me the way they did."
Athletic join Real Sociedad, Mallorca and the winner of Thursday’s clash between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the semi-finals.
Real Sociedad won 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Tuesday while Mallorca knocked out surprise LaLiga leaders Girona 3-2 earlier on Wednesday.
The loss will not help to ease the pressure on Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez in a stuttering season.
Barca are third in the LaLiga standings on 44 points, eight behind leaders Girona and seven adrift of rivals Real Madrid in second.
Diaz delivers as Liverpool reach League Cup final after 1-1 draw with Fulham
Luis Diaz scored an early goal to put Liverpool back in familiar territory after booking their berth in the club's 14th League Cup final with a 1-1 draw with Fulham in the second leg of their semi-final tie at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.
The record nine-times League Cup winners beat Fulham 3-2 on aggregate and will meet Chelsea at Wembley on Feb. 25 in a repeat of the 2022 final that Liverpool won on penalties.
"It is fantastic," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told Sky Sports. "We had the experience before, we know what to expect. Again Chelsea, wow what a story that is. I told the boys, never ever take for granted if you are part of a team who can qualify for trophies.
"What the boys did tonight was exceptional," he added. "This was the full cup experience. Open game, second half they started a bit wilder. We don't score. They got the equaliser. But the boys did really well and I am really happy.
"The only thing that counts in the end is that we are through.
Diaz scored in the 11th minute when he chested down a high ball in the box before cutting inside and launching a shot that took a deflection before sneaking in the near corner.
"We wanted to make sure we did the right things, Fulham played at home with a good atmosphere," Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk told Sky. "We had to be ready to fight, we started the game very well and scored a good goal. We found a way to go to Wembley."
Issa Diop injected some life into the Fulham fans when he equalised in the 76th minute, kneeing home a pinpoint pass from former Liverpool player Harry Wilson.
Fulham kept pressing until the final whistle in some nerve-jangling minutes for Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are also still in the FA Cup and Europa League competitions.
"This was not the night to shine, this was the night to qualify for a final," Klopp said.
They are expected to be without talisman and joint league top scorer Mohamed Salah for three to four weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
After a methodical first half, the pace picked up with both sides squandering chances including a frantic few seconds of action that saw Fulham's Andreas Pereira smashing a shot off the post, and then Harvey Elliott on the break firing straight at keeper Bernd Leno for Liverpool.
Darwin Nunez had a terrific chance when he spun around a Fulham defender but launched the ball just wide of the post, holding up his hands in disbelief.
Both sides will now turn their attention to their fourth-round FA Cup games, with Liverpool playing Norwich City on Sunday, while Fulham host Newcastle United on Saturday.
Bayern battle past Union Berlin 1-0 to cut gap to top spot
Champions Bayern Munich eked out a 1-0 win over visitors Union Berlin in their postponed Bundesliga game on Wednesday to bounce back from last week's home loss to Werder Bremen and cut the gap to the top to four points.
The game had been postponed in December due to heavy snowfall in Munich at the time.
Bayern, who will be without Dayot Upamecano for some time after he picked up a muscle injury, were eager to make amends for Sunday's 1-0 defeat and the visitors had to soak up intense early pressure.
Union keeper Frederik Ronnow managed to stop Matthijs de Ligt's header and Upamecano's rebound in the seventh minute before tipping wide Kingsley Coman's low shot a little later.
Winger Coman again went close to putting Bayern in front in the 23rd but his effort sailed just wide of the post with Bayern having close to 80 percent possession in the first half.
Raphael Guerreiro broke the deadlock seconds after the restart, drilling in on the rebound after Harry Kane's shot had bounced off the post and into the Portuguese's path, to settle the hosts' nerves.
"We played very seriously and were very alert," said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.
"We had good chances to score, but we lacked precision. We failed to score that second goal. We didn't allow any breaks at all. A reaction was needed (after Bremen) and we got the result we wanted."
Union had coach Nenad Bjelica sent off in the 74th for shoving Bayern's Leroy Sane twice in the face after the player went to get the ball from the Union coach.
The visitors had earlier called for a penalty after Kevin Behrens had charged into the box but was stopped by Bayern's Konrad Laimer just before taking a shot.
"The ball came to me and I went to give it to Sane," Bjelica said. "He pushed me and then I reacted in a way I should not have -- with my hand in his face. I felt provoked and I just reacted the way I should not have done."
Bayern, who saw new signing Eric Dier come on as a second half substitute, move up to 44 points in second place, with Leverkusen leading the title race on 48.
