Clone of Clone of Clone of Clone of Athletic Club dominate at La Catedral on their way to the Cup Final

San Mamés was a cauldron that not even the Bilbao rain could extinguish and the passionate home support led their team to their 40th Copa del Rey final with a record crowd of 52,061, the best ever for an Athletic Club match at La Catedral.

The 0-1 scoreline from the first leg at the Metropolitano gave the home side a slight advantage going into the match and forced Diego Pablo Simeone's team to go out in search of a goal to get back in the tie.

In an open few minutes in which both teams battled hard to gain the upper hand in the match, Athletic Club managed to dominate the ball in the opposition half while Atlético fired off two shots on goal. Then the game’s first decisive moment came with a brilliant move by the Williams brothers after a perfect counter-attack by the lions. Nico drove the ball down the left wing to the byline and his deep, looping cross was met by a spectacularly timed right-footed volley from Iñaki that Jan Oblak could do nothing about.

When allowed space the Williams brothers were a constant danger to Atletico with their speed and agility. Once again they combined for the second goal in the 42nd minute, this time changing roles. An assist from Iñaki after a run down the right and playing all low ball across to Nico, who poked his finish home from inside the six-yard box.

Two quick-fire strikes from the Lions seemed to have been the knockout blows for Atlético, who tried in vain to reduce the lead. Meanwhile, La Catedral paid passionate homage to the brothers who, with their two goals, had taken the Basque team one step closer to the final with forty-five minutes to go.

In the second half, the clock was the team from Bilbao’s friend, they were comfortably probing and had several clear chances to put the game to bed once and for all before that final blow would come. When it did come it was from the feet of Guruzeta, who pounced on a rebound from Oblak after a shot from Sancet to silence any remaining doubters.

Simeone's side tried to repair the damage with shots from Memphis and Riquelme but they all found the gloves of Agirrezabala, something else which added to the already fervent party atmosphere, as the fans dreamed of the final in Seville ever-closer on the horizon.

Athletic Club are facing another date with destiny in what will be their 40th Cup final and they will be looking to win another Copa de Rey trophy forty years since their last victory in a special competition that holds a special place in the heart of the Bilbao team. They will be up against RCD Mallorca in the final on 6 April at La Cartuja in Seville.