Athletic Bilbao take on the visitors Atletico Madrid in the second leg of Copa del Rey semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, February 29th at Estadio San Mamés (Bilbao).
Athletic hoped for a breakthrough a year ago. Then in Bilbao, Valverde returned, the most experienced coach who had previously worked here, and successfully so. It seemed that he would invigorate the ambitious but not particularly good project that had been playing poorly in the recent past. The last cycle didn't turn out the best – yes, the team improved but not as much as expected, losing out to Osasuna in the battle for 7th place and being defeated by them in the cup semifinals. Now they have managed to reach the same level in the Copa del Rey, but this time starting the round with a victory, albeit a minimal one, over Atletico away. It's equally important that they managed to improve in La Liga. There are still chances to climb to 4th place there, pushing out either the mattress makers and/or Barcelona from the quartet of the best. However, in the last round, there was far from the first setback when they unexpectedly lost to Betis.
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Atletico may end the season poorly. The mattress makers suffered minimal setbacks in a couple of important matches. Last week, the trip to Milan for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 ended in a 0-1 defeat to Inter – Arnautovic managed to score against Oblak, more precisely, he tapped in the ball into the net after another save by the Slovenian. Well, the cup defeat at home was mentioned – there, the only goal was scored by Berenguer from a penalty. But, of course, Diego Simeone's wards will fight for the final success both in the European cup and in the Copa del Rey – especially since they eliminated Real in the latter, among others. Moreover, Cholo's Team is showing a decent level overall. Although the progress of Athletic and especially Girona doesn't allow the Madrid club to relax even in La Liga. Especially since there are still setbacks, like the 2-2 draw with Almeria, undoubtedly the worst representative of the division.
In the previous season, the mattress makers won 1-0 both in Bilbao and at home. But in the current season, the Basques took revenge, winning dry both in La Liga and in the first cup semifinal. In this pair, Cholo's Team started to be considered outsiders. But you shouldn't write them off just yet, especially since a draw at San Mames will be enough for the hosts after the 1-0 in Madrid. Let's bet that the guests won't lose in this match.
Prediction for the match: Atletico Madrid not to lose (X2).
