MADRID: The Copa del Rey’s new single-elimination format claimed its biggest victims on Thursday, with Real Madrid and Barcelona both being eliminated as Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao pulled off a shock Basque double to reach the semi-finals.

Real lost 4-3 to Sociedad in a seven-goal thriller at the Santiago Bernabeu before Barca were beaten 1-0 by Bilbao at San Mames, where Inaki Williams headed in a dramatic 93rd-minute winner, on the most surprising night of a competition filled with upsets.

Defending champions Valencia also lost on Tuesday and Villarreal were eliminated on Wednesday. Sevilla and Atletico Madrid had already been ousted in previous rounds.

Only the semi-finals are being played over two legs this season, giving smaller clubs greater chances of knocking out bigger teams. The surprising last four will also include Granada and second-division club Mirandes.

“There have been some surprise results,” said Williams. “Sometimes you just have to have faith and heart.”

It’s the first time in a decade that neither Real nor Barca made it to the last four in the Copa. At least one of the Spanish powerhouses had reached the final every year since the 2009-10 season, when Sevilla won the title. Barca made the final the last six years in a row.

“This is the new Copa,” Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said. “We are playing one match, away from home, and in one play you are eliminated.”

For Barca, defeat was particularly painful, coming at the end of a turbulent week that saw Lionel Messi engage in a public spat with the club’s sporting director Eric Abidal and Ousmane Dembele ruled out, probably for the rest of the season, with another hamstring tear.

To make matters worse, Gerard Pique hobbled off with his own injury problem in the second half against Bilbao and looks doubtful to face Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday.

Messi’s riposte that “everyone should take responsibility for their own decisions” after Abidal suggested Ernesto Valverde was sacked last month because of the players, means Barca are in political turmoil off the pitch.

And the fear is Messi could even leave in the summer by activating a clause in his contract that allows him to walk away from the club for free.

Defeat in the Copa, a distant third in Barca’s list of priorities this season, will not dictate Messi’s thinking but another setback certainly adds to the sense of a club currently in a state of crisis.

Quique Setien has lost two of his opening six games in charge, with a Champions League tie against Napoli fast-approaching. The fall-out from another failure in Europe would prove longer-lasting.

“We deserved to go through,” said Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu. “But the ambition and attitude I saw on the field encourages me for the league and the Champions League. Success can come.”

Barca dominated throughout the second half and came close to breaking the deadlock with clear chances for Antoine Griezmann and Messi near the end. But it was Athletic that found the late winner when Williams flicked a header into the far corner after a cross by Ibai Gomez.

“I think we took a step forward. We played better than our opponent,” Setien said. “Everything went well except for the result.”

Athletic, the second-most successful club in the Copa with 23 titles, behind Barca, had needed penalty shootouts to advance against second-division clubs in the two previous rounds.

Messi made his 75th Copa appearance, equalling the Barcelona record held by Josep Samitier since 1932.

Sociedad’s victory halted Real’s eight-game winning streak and handed the club their first loss in all competitions since October. It also ended Real’s hopes of winning the cup competition for the first time since 2014.

Sociedad, semi-finalists in 2014, will be looking to win their third Copa trophy and first since 1987.

“Our fans deserved a prize like this,” Real Sociedad coach Imano Alguacil said. “This victory means a lot, coming at a packed Bernabeu, against a team like Real Madrid, with our team playing well. You can imagine how we are feeling right now. It is the second time in 32 years we’ve reached the semis. We were convinced we could do it. But we haven’t achieved anything yet.”

The visitors looked in control for most of the match but Real came close to pulling off the comeback after scoring late goals in the second half.

“We gave everything we had in the end, but it was too late,” Real defender Marcelo said. “It’s hard to come back after conceding four goals at home. It’s disappointing, but we still have other competitions ahead of us.”

Real, who sit top of La Liga, had been dominant thanks in part to a stout defence, having conceded only 13 goals in 22 league matches.

Young Norwegian playmaker Martin Odegaard, playing for Sociedad on a loan from Real, didn’t celebrate after opening the scoring in the 22nd minute off the rebound of a save by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

Young Swedish striker Alexander Isak added to the lead with goals two minutes apart early in the second half a volley in the 54th and a shot into the top corner in the 56th.

The 20-year-old Isak who has scored in five consecutive matches had already had a goal disallowed for offside after video review just minutes after the break.

Marcelo pulled Real closer with a low shot from inside the area in the 59th, but Mikel Merino increased the visitors’ lead again from close range in the 69th.

Rodrygo netted Real’s second in the 81st, two minutes after Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed by video review. A Nacho Fernandez header set up a wild final three minutes, in which Andoni Gorosabel was also sent off.

“It hurts, we have to be honest, nobody likes a defeat,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2020