At the end of the night, a miracle: German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen saved two of the Basques’ five strikes during the penalty shoot-out to allow Barça to reach the final after a thrilling semi-final from the start at the end.
Previously, the Barcelona had opened the scoring thanks to a perfect cross from Antoine Griezmann on the head of Frenkie de Jong (39e), but were joined on a penalty from Basque captain Mikel Oyarzabal (51e), following a hand from De Jong in the box.
Barça thirsts for titles
With a very restless Ousmane Dembélé on his right wing but who lost countless numbers of balls, and a little visible Griezmann, who missed his shot on goal, the Catalans have not managed to forget the absence of their superstar Argentinian, preserved because of pain in the left thigh… and who had to attend this meeting with twists and turns from the stands, the left leg bandaged.
Barça, however, continues a 10th match in a row without defeat in the absence of Messi (8 wins, 2 draws), in all competitions … but its offensive sector has known all the difficulties in the world to carry the danger in front of the Basque goals.
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This qualification, the men of Ronald Koeman owe it largely to their German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, author of some crucial stops in extra time, in particular on a free kick perfectly struck by Adnan Januzaj … and during a shooting session to masterful purpose.
In Sunday’s final in Seville (Andalusia, southern Spain), the Catalans will therefore meet Real Madrid or Athletic Bilbao, who face each other in Malaga on Thursday in the second semi-final (9:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. GMT).
This victory had the air of revenge for the Blaugranas, under the eyes of the Spanish coach Luis Enrique (present in the stands), a year after seeing their long nightmare born in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), on the shores of the Red Sea.
Eliminated last year in the semifinals by Atlético Madrid (3-2), the Catalans had lost Luis Suarez (knee operated afterwards and long absent), their coach Ernesto Valverde had been sacked, Xavi had almost returned … In short, it was the beginning of a catastrophic year 2020.
Unbeaten in 2021, Barca remain shy, but they are proving that they are still hungry for titles.
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