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Final: Athletic Bilbao 0-4 Barcelona
Second-half goal blitz seals first trophy since 2019

There were seventy minutes gone in the 2021 Copa del Rey final when Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi did what Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi do, replicating the move they have produced a thousand times to round off a final that ended in familiar style. Alba’s pass, Messi’s finish, and Barcelona had the fourth goal of the night and their seventh Copa del Rey in 12 years. If Messi is to depart at the end of the season at least they can remember him like this, scoring twice and lifting his 35th trophy at the club.
Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong, meanwhile, lifted their first having sparked Barcelona into life with the first and second of a four goal burst early in the second half that ended what little resistance Athletic Bilbao could muster – which wasn’t much. So too did manager Ronald Koeman, who must have wondered how his team were not leading at the break, but was beaming by the end. Ultimately, they were just much too good, taking Athletic apart piece by piece. Rarely can a final have been so one-sided. Continue reading...