Barcelona dealt latest double injury blow on way to Copa del Rey exit at Athletic Club
The club’s exit from the Copa del Rey proved far from the only concern for a faltering Barcelona outfit on Thursday evening.
Xavi Hernandez’s men returned to action a short time ago.
On the back of a disappointing exit from the Spanish Super Cup at the hands of Clasico rivals Real Madrid last week, the Blaugrana turned their attentions towards the Copa, in a Last-16 showdown with Athletic Club.
When all was said and done at San Mames, though, the woes being endured by Barca of late only continued to worsen, en route to an eventual 3-2 defeat after extra-time.
AET #AthleticBarça pic.twitter.com/DUE1TssaZR
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 20, 2022
Yet, their exit from the Copa marked far from the only concern for Xavi and co. on Thursday.
In addition, the visitors to the Basque Country saw not one, but two players limp out of proceedings prematurely.
First came Ansu Fati, who, fresh off the back of a lengthy spell on the sidelines, pulled up with what appeared to be another hamstring problem, before limping down the tunnel:
Ansu Fati heads down the tunnel with an injury. pic.twitter.com/yhJ4yokXT2
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 20, 2022
And following Ansu a short time later was fellow Spanish starlet Pedri, who asked to be removed from proceedings whilst clutching his leg.
Muniain decides it
In truth, based on the balance of play, Barcelona didn’t deserve a whole lot more than the defeat they were ultimately served at San Mames on Thursday.
The Catalans were outplayed over lengthy stretches, yet managed to keep themselves in proceedings first owing to a moment of individual brilliance on the part of January arrival Ferran Torres:
Ferran Torres with a classy curler for his first goal for Barcelona! 🙌
A great game shaping up at San Mames pic.twitter.com/R3fAV6FSUp
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) January 20, 2022
And later a last-gasp Pedri equaliser to send the clash to extra time:
Pedri keeps Barca alive! 😱😱
Another DRAMATIC finish in the Copa del Rey and another game looking to be headed to extra time 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IbeorYT0Gc
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) January 20, 2022
In the end, though, the pressure of Athletic simply proved too much, as Jordi Alba’s hand ball in the penalty area afforded Iker Muniain the chance to wrap things up for the hosts with 105 minutes on the clock, an opportunity with which the Spaniard made no mistake:
Muniain sends Ter Stegen the wrong way, broken ankles pic.twitter.com/HLKGmBA0qn
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 20, 2022
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