In the next two match days, Athletic will face two rivals who are playing for their qualification to the group stage of the Champions League. The first of them is Sevilla, who receive the rojiblancos tomorrow from half past six in the afternoon. The people of Seville have been plunged into the biggest crisis in recent years, with the strange experience that took place on Wednesday at the Pizjuán after losing against Borussia Dortmund. The club led by Joseph Castro made to sit on the bench Julen Lopetegui despite the fact that he had already been dismissed, the news confirmed at the end of the meeting. They didn’t even wait until yesterday morning to make it official. It doesn’t seem like the best way for a manager who has won the Europa League title and qualified the team for Europe’s top competition for the last three seasons.
It is certainly not the best possible scenario to receive the lions, in a critical situation in the regular tournament after adding only 5 points out of a possible 21 and being fourth from the bottom, just one point behind Almería and Cádiz, the first two teams occupying the red zone. The third is Elche, which this week also sacked its coach, Francisco.
Sevilla also have to look at the Liga with one eye and the Champions League with the other. After losing on Wednesday and receiving the lions, they will visit the Germans next Tuesday with the inevitable goal of winning. A draw or a defeat would leave them with little chance of qualifying for the round of 16 after adding just one point from three group G matches, the same record as Copenhagen and behind Manchester City , full of victories , and Dortmund, two wins and one loss. Those from the Andalusian capital lost on their debut against the English (0-4), drew with the Danes at home on the second day (0-0) before Wednesday’s 1-4 draw.
The same can be said of Atlético, the team’s next rival Valverde, on Saturday, October 15 (9:00 pm). Three days before, the colchoneros also had an important match in the Champions League against Bruges at the Metropolitan. those of Simeon they are very needy, although they have more options than Pizjuán. They are at the bottom of group B, but have the same three points as Porto and Bayer Leverkusen, the new team from Xabi Alonso, with the Belgians leading the way with nine units. The Madrid men host Girona tomorrow and on Wednesday they visit the group leader in a key game.
Athletic are riding a good dynamic with three consecutive victories against Elche, Rayo and Almería before the calendar turns uphill with four remaining matches to be played in October. The men from Bilbao have the opportunity to continue scoring against the two rivals who live under the European yoke of the Champions League. Can they make the most of it?
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
