Athletic Bilbao 0-4 Barcelona: 5 hits and flops as Lionel Messi magic guides Catalans to Copa Del Rey final triumph

Hit: Frenkie De Jong (Barcelona)

A man of the match performance from the Dutch starlet

Frenkie De Jong had an exceptional night. He was involved in Barcelona's first three goals of the night, assisting Griezmann and Messi on either side of his strike.

3 - With one goal and two assists against Athletic, @FCBarcelona's Frenkie de Jong 🇳🇱 is the second player to be directly involved in three goals in a Copa del Rey final in the 21st century, after Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 against Sevilla in 2018 (one goal, two assists). Stellar. pic.twitter.com/iHotYlRKVl

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 17, 2021

It was his seventh goal of the season for Blaugrana in all competitions but arguably the most important of them all.

But what took the cake here was his linkup with Messi for the latter's strike. He showed tremendous composure and quick-thinking for a few brilliant one-twos before releasing the captain with a lovely throughball.

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Flop: Inaki Williams (Barcelona)

Williams was a pale shadow of his self which ripped Barcelona apart in the Supercup

The man who loves scoring against Barcelona, Inaki Williams, was caught cold tonight. He suffered a quiet night and was barely even seen in the game.

While it's true that the Spaniard was left devoid of service most of the time, his off-the-ball work left a lot to be desired too. He hardly put in any effort to win the ball back.

Los Leones mustered only one shot on target all night, a testament to how poor they were in attack, and Williams, as well as Raul Garcia up to some extent, should take the blame for an abysmal showing upfront.

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Hit: Jordi Alba (Barcelona)

Alba turned back the calendar tonight

Jordi Alba played a phenomenal role in Barcelona's resounding triumph, creating two goals and delivering a top overall performance.

He was the key to stretching Bilbao defensively, perennially staying wide and feeding the attackers in the middle with lovely crosses, two of which found De Jong and Messi for their respective goals.

Jordi alba has been the best left back in Europe this season and it shouldn't be a debate.16 assists 5 goals all competitions this season.👏🏾Insane numbers.👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/cs7faoEDik

— . (@grimptinho) April 17, 2021

The Spaniard has often been called into question since last season for his unsatisfactory performances and recurring injury problems. However, he showed he still has a lot left to offer with a vintage display tonight.