Dimitris Kouimtsidis
BOTH El Clasico heavyweights have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-finals stage.
Real Madrid were beaten 3-4 at home by Real Sociedad, while Barcelona lost away to Athletic Bilbao 1-0 with a last minute goal.
The Madrilenos conceded four goals for the first time under Zinedine Zidane and were both 0-3 and 1-4 down during the game.
The La Liga leaders were unbeaten in 21 games coming into this tie and had only conceded 13 goals from 22 games in the league.
Last year’s Spanish Champions Barcelona also suffered a shock defeat with a last minute own goal by Sergio Busquets being the deciding factor in a very tight game.
The Catalans were eyeing up a seventh consecutive Copa del Rey final and a first cup win since 2018.
These results mean that it will be the first time since 2010 that a Copa del Rey final will feature neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona.
The two Basque sides however, who have a bitter local rivalry between them, could face each other in the competition’s final for the first time in history, splitting the Basque country in half.
