Copa del Rey: First time in 65 years! Barcelona and Real Madrid eliminated on same day

Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona have simultaneously been thrown out of the Copa del Rey. On Thursday, both teams lost in the quarterfinals. It took 65 years for both La Liga giants to get eliminated from the tournament on the same day.

Real Sociedad defeated Real Madrid 3-4 in a thrilling game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and eventually ended Los Blancos' 21-game unbeaten run. In another quarter-final, Barcelona crashed out of the tournament after Athletic Bilbao netted a stoppage-time goal to win 1-0.

Martin Odegaard opened the account for Sociedad in the 22nd minute against his owners. Alexander Isak scored two goals in quick succession in the 54th and 56th minutes to help his team take a 3-0 lead over the La Liga leaders. It took three more minutes for Real Madrid to score their first when Marcelo netted the ball in the 59th minute.

The scoresheet quickly changed again as Sociedad's Mikel Merino scored the fourth goal for his team with just nine minutes left in the match. Nacho's strike in stoppage time only meant that the margin of defeat was minimised for Real. They had a moment of hope when Real Sociedad's Andoni Gorosabel was shown a red card in stoppage time, but they were unable to find the equaliser.

Barcelona, on the other hand, hasn't been in the best form given their recent track record in the knockout rounds across tournaments. Thursday's defeat established the fact that the Blaugrana have now lost two trophies within just one month. In January, they were defeated by Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana.

The Copa del Rey match could have gone either way but Sergio Busquets' own goal in stoppage time accidentally sealed a semi-final spot for Athletic Bilbao.

The last instance when the two Spanish powerhouses were eliminated from any competition on the same day was on 29 May 1955. Real Madrid lost to Sevilla while Barcelona was also beaten by Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semifinals.

Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao will now join La Liga side Granada and second division club Mirandes in the last four of the competition.