Mallorca-Real Sociedad and Atlético-Athletic Club, semi-finals of the Copa del Rey

MADRID, 26 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The duels between RCD Mallorca and Real Sociedad, and between Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club will star in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey 2023-2024, according to the draw held this Friday at the Ciudad de Fútbol de Las Rozas (Madrid). ).

The first leg matches of the penultimate round of the 'k.o tournament' will be held in the first week of February, between the 6th and the 8th, while the second leg matches are scheduled for the last one, between the 27th and the 29th.

The draw avoided an always attractive Basque derby in these semi-finals and left a 'high-voltage' match between Athletic Club, one of the teams with the longest cup tradition with 23 titles and which faces its fifth consecutive semi-final after eliminating FC Barcelona, ​​and Atlético de Madrid, which has ten cup trophies, the last one more than ten years ago (2013) and which returned seven years later to the semi-finals of the competition after leaving Sevilla and, in the second round, Real Madrid, current champion.

The tie will come in a demanding stretch for the Colchonero team, which will also have the first leg at the Cívitas Metropolitano, a fiefdom where its rival has not won in its history. In fact, you have to go back to the 2010-2011 season to see the Biscayan team's last away victory against Atlético, when they won 0-2 with a double from Gaizka Toquero.

Both teams promise a very intense tie in a Cup that arouses great enthusiasm in both clubs, who meet again in this competition a decade after, with Diego Pablo Simeone on the bench, the Madrid team eliminated in the quarterfinals in the final to the Basque, who also had the return leg in San Mamés on that occasion, where they lost 1-2 after also losing the first leg 1-0.

Atlético de Madrid will theoretically face greater wear and tear than Athletic Club since it must play seven more matches apart from this semi-final, including the league derby at the Santiago Bernabéu and the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Italian Inter, and with fewer days of rest than those of Ernesto Valverde, who is also in the fight for one of the first four places in LaLiga EA Sports and who will play two fewer games and more rest during the week.

On the other hand, the other semi-final of the competition will be the one between two other teams that know what it is to lift this trophy such as RCD Mallorca, champion in 2003, and Real Sociedad, winner in 1909, 1987 and 2020.

The vermillion team is the revelation of this cup season, in which they lost to Girona in the quarterfinals, and return to the semifinals 15 years later. The objective of Javier Aguirre's team will be to get a good result in the first leg at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, where they have only lost one game so far this year, to try to get their ticket for the final at the Reale Arena, precisely where they were eliminated. in the Cup last season, then a single match, and where they have lost in their last four visits.

For its part, Imanol Alguacil's team, which managed to avoid the two theoretically most powerful rivals in the pot, will be like Atlético de Madrid, since it will have to fit this tied tie with the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. French Germain (February 14 and March 5).

--PAIRINGS OF THE KING'S CUP SEMIFINALS.

RCD Mallorca - Real Sociedad.

Atlético de Madrid - Athletic Club.