Real Sociedad 1-0 Athletic Club [2-0 agg]: La Real to face Atléti in Copa del Rey final | OneFootball

A late Mikel Oyarzabal penalty in the Basque Derby at the Reale Arena sent Real Sociedad through to the Copa del Rey final, where they will face Atlético Madrid.

Athletic Club, chasing a one-goal deficit after defeat at San Mamés last month, struggled to get going in Donostia and never looked capable of breaking the deadlock.

Mikel Oyarzabal slotted home a late penalty after a foul from substitute Iñigo Galarreta inside the box, wrapping up a merited semi-final victory that sets up a Copa del Rey final meeting with Atlético Madrid, who knocked out Barcelona despite a valiant second-leg performance from the Catalan side.

The title decider takes place on Saturday 18 April at La Cartuja, with the sides also set to meet in LaLiga action this Saturday.

As it happened

Needing a goal to haul themselves level in the tie, Ernesto Valverde’s zurigorri started brightly at Reale Arena with Iñaki Williams steering a cross into the box for Álex Berenguer – though the 30-year-old couldn’t direct his header on target.

It would prove to be a costly missed opportunity as Real Sociedad rapidly grew into the match, with Álex Padilla forced to produce a fine save when Carlos Soler’s free-kick from the left was seemingly destined for the top corner.

As with any derby, and particularly such a decisive meeting in the latter stages of the cup, a flurry of undesirable challenges began to seep in before the half-hour mark.

They didn’t dampen the hosts’ resolve, though, as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men sought to extend their aggregate cushion. Mikel Oyarzabal found Gonçalo Guedes, allowing the Portuguese international to drill a low ball back for Ander Barrenetxea – but Aitor Paredes was able to beat the 24-year-old to the ball.

La Real broke again soon after when Guedes squared for Soler, although the midfielder wasn’t able to latch onto the delivery and Barrenetxea slipped in an attempt to pick up the pieces.

Despite those squandered chances, Matarazzo would have been by far the happier of the managers at the break – and while the second half was noticeably slower than the first, the hosts continued to have the better of their opponents.

That change in tempo suited Real Sociedad, who refused to sit back and continued to hunt for a decisive second goal of the two-legged tie. Two headers in quick succession flew over the crossbar though, with Jon Martín nodding a Soler cross off-target before Yangel Herrera sent his effort soaring minutes later.

La Real appealed for a late penalty as Iñigo Galarreta tugged on the shirt of Herrera inside the box, and their calls were heard by VAR, who found the substitute guilty and allowed Oyarzabal to slot underneath the diving Padilla from 12 yards out.

It wrapped up a deserved victory for the txuri-urdin, who will face Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday 18 April.