Copa del Rey | Messi nets 2, Barcelona beats Bilbao 4-0 to win the cup

April 18, 2021 04:40 am | Updated 04:40 am IST - SEVILLE

FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates winning the Copa del Rey with the trophy.

FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates winning the Copa del Rey with the trophy.

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 to win the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, giving Ronald Koeman his first title as coach of the Catalan club.

Messi’s two goals came after Antoine Griezmann finally beat Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón with the opener on the hour-mark.

Frenkie de Jong headed in a second goal in the 63rd before Messi dealt a double blow to put the result beyond any doubt by the 72nd.

It is Barcelona’s first title since winning the Spanish league in 2019. Koeman, a former Barcelona defender, returned to coach the club last summer after Barcelona finished last season without a title for the first time since 2008.

Barcelona has won the Spanish cup a record 31 times, including four straight from 2015-2018.

Bilbao has now lost two Copa del Rey finals this month at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville. Bilbao lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad just two weeks ago when they met in the 2020 final that had been postponed due to the pandemic.

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