Madrid, Feb 12: Real Sociedad won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao in a Basque Country derby in the first leg of the semifinals of Copa del Rey.
Beñat Turrientes scored the winning goal from close range in the 62nd minute at San Mames Stadium. The return leg will be in March.
Sociedad, playing in its third straight Copa semifinal, is trying to reach the final for the first time since it won the competition in 2019-20 for its third title.
Athletic, playing in its sixth Copa semifinal in seven seasons, won the title in 2024 against Mallorca, and was runner-up to Barcelona in 2020-21 and to Sociedad in 2019-20.
Athletic hasn’t won in its last four matches against Sociedad after having won two in a row. It has 24 Copa trophies, behind only the 32 of Barcelona. Real Madrid is third in the list, with 20 Copa titles.
On Thursday, Atletico Madrid hosts defending champion Barcelona in the first leg of their semifinal. Barcelona has reached the Copa’s last four in four straight seasons. Atletico is in the semifinals for the third straight season, having last reached the final when it won the competition in 2019-20.
Athletic made it to the semifinals thanks to Iñaki Williams’s winner six minutes into stoppage time in a 2-1 at Valencia. Sociedad made it to the last four by winning 3-2 at Alaves. (AP)
