Sports Desk, Mar 1 (EFE).- The Williams brothers from Ghana excelled once again to hand Athletic Club a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and 4-0 on aggregate, guiding the side to their third final of the tournament in five years.
Athletic, the second-most successful team in the tournament behind Barcelona, but who have not won the trophy since 1983-84 despite playing in the final on several occasions, will face Real Mallorca in the title decider on Apr. 6 in Seville.
Ernesto Valverde’s side, which appeared almost impregnable at home this season, came to the semi-final with the obvious advantage of a 0-1 win in Madrid in the first leg.
Inaki Williams volleyed home a cross from his brother Nico Williams to increase their advantage by opening the scoring in the 13th minute of the second leg.
In an electrifying atmosphere at San Mames, Nico himself came close to scoring a few minutes later, only to send his shot wide.
It was, however, a prelude to what was to follow at the end of the first half as the Williams brothers, who were also instrumental in their quarterfinal win against Barcelona, combined again for their second goal.
Inaki got the better of Atletico defender Mario Hermoso and teed up Nico to score with his left foot three minutes from the break, effectively killing the contest.
The hosts were relentless in pursuit of more goals in the second half and were rewarded with their third of the night on the hour mark when Gorka Guruzeta pounced on a rebound after Jan Oblak fumbled an Oihan Sancet effort.
Atletico threw everything they had at their gauntlet to stage a comeback with no avail as the music “we’re going to Sevilla, olé!” grew louder with every passing minute in the San Mames gallery.
“We know what it means for our fans to go to a Cup final,” said Athletic coach Valverde.
“I know that they are going to accompany us to Seville and together we will try to win, the same as they think in Mallorca. Anything can happen,” he said.
The sixth final of the tournament in 15 years also helped Valverde’s men qualify for the next edition of the Spanish Super Cup. EFE
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