Soccer-Bilbao's Valverde deflated after 'inevitable' Barca win

By Tim Hanlon BARCELONA, May 31 (Reuters) - "Unstoppable". "Extraordinary". Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde had nothing but praise for King's Cup victors Barcelona on Saturday but said the fact that his own side reached the final was nothing short of a miracle. A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Bilbao in the final. "Barca are an extraordinary team with extraordinary players and on top of that they are in great form," Valverde told a news conference, adding that they would go into the June 6 Champions League final as favourites. "They have the hunger to win everything and I think they are favourite to beat Juventus as they were favourites against us. "You always look for a way to win and say it can happen but Barca always win in the end." Neymar added a second after Messi opened the scoring, and then in the second half the Argentine struck again. There was a late consolation goal from Inaki Williams for Bilbao. "As for Messi they asked me before if he was unstoppable and if he isn't then he is almost unstoppable," said Valverde. "He directs Barca's play and those around him. Messi often appears in these types of games and he did this time in a devastating way. His first goal was incredible." Valverde said it was difficult for a team like Bilbao to compete against sides of the stature of Barca. "Maybe we could have won but the job was very tough," he said. "Athletic are a miracle as each year we lose a player and yet we continue to reach finals and we have also played in the Champions League. "We do it because of the fans and the miracle was that the Camp Nou was more like a home game for us." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)