Barcelona will not return to the Copa del Rey final after being eliminated by Athletic Bilbao.
Quique Setien reckons his Barcelona side did more than enough to be handed a shock 1-0 stoppage-time defeat in their Copa del Rey quarter-final clash against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday evening.
The Blaugrana were hoping to secure their seventh straight final appearance in the Copa del Rey until Inaki Williams’ header clinched a dramatic win for Los Leones in San Mamés.
“We are leaving this competition, it is painful, but the image of the team has been very good,” Setien told a press conference.
“Everything went well today except the result and us not continuing in the cup. I am quite satisfied.
“The game was as we wanted it, we dominated the whole of the second half, but the penalty is not to get ahead with one of those chances.
“We must congratulate the opponent because they put the ball in the goal, which we could not do.”
Setien added: “Sadly the goal has come to us at a time when there was no chance of a reaction.
“There are days that you have 10 opportunities and you don’t put them in, others that you have one and put in.
“I don’t know why, maybe because of the confidence of the players, but there are things we cannot control, and this is one of them.”
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