Iker Muniain’s first-half strike gave Athletic Club a 1-0 win at home to Granada in the teams’ Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.
Back at San Mames just six nights after knocking out Barcelona with a dramatic 1-0 victory on Thursday, Athletic dominated virtually from start to finish in this one.
Inaki Williams, who had hit the winner in stoppage time against the Catalans, was involved in most of the Basques’ best play, but was twice denied by Granada goalkeeper Rui Silva in the first half.
Athletic finally found the breakthrough three minutes before the interval and Williams played a pivotal part. The forward controlled the ball on the run down the left and sent in a low cross to hand Muniain a simple finish from close range.
There was some suspicion of handball, but replays showed it seemed to hit his shoulder and the goal stood.
Granada switched to three at the back for the second half, but still struggled to contain the home side and Athletic thought they had doubled their lead on the hour when Ander Capa brought the ball down and volleyed in from the edge of the area,
This one was denied by a VAR check, though, as Williams was offside and obstructed the view of Rui Silva, even lifting a leg to let the ball pass on its way into the net.
Coach Gaizka Garitano sent on 39-year-old Aritz Aduriz in place of Raul Garcia for the final quarter of the match, but Athletic could not find a second goal and Granada came close late on as Carlos Neva’s fierce drive was parried by Unai Simon.
In the end, it was a deserved win for the Basques and they take a narrow lead to Granada for the second leg, which will be played early next month.
Real Sociedad meet Segunda side Mirandes in the first leg of the other semi-final on Thursday.
