Real Sociedad defeat Athletic Bilbao in Copa del Rey semifinal first leg

Real Sociedad inched towards a Copa del Rey final appearance with a first leg win against Athletic Club in semifinal.Published On 12 Feb 2026Real Sociedad took control of their Copa del Rey semifinal tie with ⁠a 1-0 first-leg ⁠win at Athletic Bilbao, as Benat Turrientes struck in the second half in the Basque derby on Wednesday.The clash between the longtime rivals ⁠was finely balanced in the first half, but the visitors were the more composed of the two sides and are well placed before the return leg ⁠at San Sebastian’s Anoeta on March 4.Recommended Stories list of 1 itemlist 1 of 1Archrivals Barcelona and Atletico to meet in high-stakes Copa del Rey semiend of listLa Real, unbeaten in 10 matches since Pellegrino Matarazzo took charge in mid-December, were sharper in a lively first half at San Mames but found Athletic’s second-choice goalkeeper Alex Padilla, deputising for Unai Simon in the Cup, ‌in fine form.Padilla first produced a sharp save to thwart Pablo Marin’s close-range effort from a counterattack in the 25th minute and then denied Jon Martin with a reflex stop after Carlos Soler’s pinpoint free kick six minutes later.Mikel Oyarzabal went close for the visitors soon afterwards, while a last-ditch sliding tackle prevented Inaki Williams from capitalising on an Athletic counterattack before halftime.Padilla continued ⁠his heroics in the second half, pulling off a brilliant ⁠one-handed save within a minute of the restart to keep out Oyarzabal’s low strike from the edge of the box.From the rebound, Marin struck the post.Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde introduced Nico Williams in ⁠the 55th minute, but the Spain forward, still recovering from a persistent groin injury, struggled to provide a decisive spark.The ⁠breakthrough finally came in the 62nd minute when Athletic’s ⁠defence was caught trying to play out from the back.