Seville, Apr 7 (UNI) Athletic Club Bilbao ended their 40-year wait to win the Copa del Rey title in Spain with a 4-2 win on penalties over Mallorca after 120 minutes of football ended 1-1.
Dani Rodriguez put Mallorca ahead in the 21st minute, but Oihan Sancet leveled early in the second half, before Julen Agirrezabala saved Manu Morlanes' penalty and Nemanja Radonjic sliced over in the shootout.
A cagey opening made it clear Mallorca would rely on their defensive organization and effectiveness from set pieces and Athletic found it hard to find angles for their passes, with too many balls being played backwards.
Nico Williams set up Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta on the edge of the area, but his effort was blocked by a wall of Mallorca bodies.
Mallorca opened the scoring in the 20th minute as the ball pinballed around the Athletic penalty area after a corner. Agirrezabala made one important block, but the ball fall to Rodriguez, who took a touch from Antonio Raillo and curled the ball in at the post.
Athletic took a while to recover, with Gorka Guruzeta hitting a comfortable shot at Dominik Greif, before Inaki Williams wasted a great chance as he was played through on goal, only to be caught in two minds whether to shoot or look for his brother, allowing Mallorca to clear.
Nico Williams had the ball in the Mallorca net after a pass from Yuri Berchiche, but was clearly offside, and in the closing moments of the first half, the forward hit the side netting when it looked as if De Galarreta had set him up.
Cyle Larin had a chance to double Mallorca's lead directly at the start of the second half when he muscled Dani Vivian off the ball, only for Agirrezabala to pull off a vital save.
The save took on an extra importance five minutes later when Nico found space and threaded the ball to Sancet, who kept his calm to fire into the far corner and make it 1-1.
Athletic were in the ascendency with Nico and Sancet both firing over and the younger Williams putting over a low cross Inaki just failed to get a touch on.
Mallorca managed to put the brakes on their rivals as the half progressed, although Vivian almost won it in the 94th minute with a shot that stung Greif's hands, but the game went into extra time.
Athletic had the best chances in the extra time, but Iker Muniain saw his free kick go into the side netting and Nico saw a shot graze the outside of the post, while Agirrezabala did well to get down and save a header from Vedat Muriqi.
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