´Nothing is decided yet´ in Athletic´s Copa del Rey semi-final, warns Valverde

Ernesto Valverde warned that “nothing is decided yet” in Athletic Club’s Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.

La Real hold the advantage heading into the second leg at Estadio Municipal de Anoela on Wednesday, having won 1-0 in the first on February 11.

Benat Turrientes scored the goal in that tie, with Athletic struggling to create too many chances in front of goal, only having three shots on target.

The hosts are expected to triumph again with a 44.9% win probability in the second leg, compared to Athletic’s 28.2%.

But even with the odds seemingly against his team, Valverde was quick to highlight that it was only a slender deficit they needed to overturn.

“[Since the first leg], we’ve recovered players, we’ve been picking up points, and we’re in good shape,” Valverde said.

“The scoreline isn’t a long shot, and nothing is decided yet.

“[It’s] an opportunity to play a final, and each team must explore its strengths.

“We’ll try to play our game to achieve our best performance. If we concede a goal, we have to score two to tie; I don’t think they’ll play defensively, they’ll come out to win. I don’t expect a tight game at all.”

La Real have now won two of their last three matches against Athletic in all competitions (D1), as many wins as in their previous nine derbies against the Rojiblancos (D3 L4).

Pellegrino Matarazzo has only been in charge of La Real since 20 December 2025 and is now just one game away from leading the team to the Copa del Rey semi-final.

Since he took over, he boasts a 58.3% win rate in all competitions, winning seven of his 12 games so far (D4 L1), but he is not getting ahead of himself just yet.

“Just over two months after arriving, a final? We’re not there yet; we have a game to play,” he said on Tuesday.

“I’ll answer that question tomorrow. I always say the same thing: take it one step at a time, day by day, game by game. I won’t think about where we’re going until I’m in the tunnel.”

Matarazzo also confirmed Unai Marrero will be starting in goal, wearing a mask after suffering a facial injury, with Orri Oskarsson also included in the squad after recovering from his own issue.