Messi steers Barcelona to Copa Del Rey final victory

BARCELONA were ruthless on Saturday night as they thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 to win the 2021 Copa del Rey.

It was a second defeat in a Spanish Cup final for Athletic in recent days, as the Basque club also lost the delayed 2020 final to Real Sociedad two weeks ago.

Lionel Messi was the hero on Saturday night, scoring twice in his side’s win as they claimed their seventh Copa del Rey title in the last 13 seasons.

Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong scored Barcelona’s other goals.

France forward Griezmann eventually got Barcelona the lead in the 60th minute against the stubborn Athletic team, and the floodgates opened.

De Jong made it 2-0 three minutes later, and Messi made it three goals in eight minutes with his 68th minute strike.

Argentina captain Messi scored Barcelona’s fourth goal on the night in the 72nd minute, making his personal goals tally for the season 30. He has now scored at least 30 goals for Barcelona in each of the last 13 seasons, beating Gerd Muller’s record of doing it for 12 seasons among Europe’s top leagues.