Vertigo at altitude. Yesterday, Athletic had a chance to sleep in the third position in the table and their dream turned into a real nightmare. What a firecracker!
There was nowhere to take what was offered in Montilivi by a desperate team from Bilbao. If not for Unai Simón and the two central defenders, the mess could have been even stronger. Girona, who have gone seven consecutive days without a win, played to win from the center kick and won. The Bilbao team’s proposal, which measured almost the same as Sunday at Villarreal, was as incomprehensible and difficult as it could be from the center kick itself.
Late, bad and never. A real joke. Succeeds all the time, while there is a game, and cannot bring order in the midst of chaos when there is a definite possibility of avoiding it. Not at grass level, or from the bank.
Some must have believed before the start of the clash that they would sleep in the Champions zone and by the time they woke up they might realize that the mediocre team from Girona had outplayed them. Guruzeta’s goal twelve minutes from the end gave rise to some illusions to at least save the draw, but nothing at all. An exercise in collective impotence.
a change
Míchel, who just drew at the Bernabéu, faced Athletic’s visit to Toni Villa for the injured Yan Couto. Valverde also introduced a variation to his starting eleven. Lekue immediately played for De Marcos.
The locals’ spirited departure caught the lions offside. Not in an offside position, but with an inconsistency similar to that shown a few weeks ago at the Camp Nou. Barça took advantage of Bilbao’s facilities to settle the dispute in the blink of an eye.
Girona, in principle, no. Girona crashed at the start against an inspired Unai Simón and his own mistakes at the end. The complaints of Yeray and Iñigo Martínez to their teammates, especially those in the midfield, are significant. Neither Vesga nor Sancet could impose their law in wide areas and Raúl García hardly had a chance to get into the game. Nico Williams and Berenguer, the wingers, did not contribute in attack either and also suffered when it came to blocking their respective full-backs. Iñaki Williams, in such a situation, had to be alone.
The lions, however, weathered the storm and gradually began to test an effective Gazzaniga. The local goalkeeper blocked two shots with some danger from Nico Williams and Raúl García. Unai Simón also had to intervene in Aleix García’s shot.
The second half started with Balenziaga replacing Yuri, a save by the Álava goalkeeper and Nico Williams forcing the local goalkeeper to shine. Just a mirage because immediately afterwards Unai Simón himself supported his team with interventions against Aleix García and Herrera. Valverde, with his team in a clear 4-4-2, fielded De Marcos and Vencedor. Not for those.
Míchel, aware of Bilbao’s weakness when it comes to holding back, brought on Riquelme and Stuani and Iván Martín soon afterwards. David López, with a header from a free kick, opened the scoring after game time. Valverde, with all that was lost, pulled Zarraga and Guruzeta.
Athletic took a step forward, but Girona made it 2-0 on the counter through Iván Martín. Guruzeta’s last goal gave the lions some illusions, but it all remained a cheap volunteer exercise.
girona
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athletic
Girona: Gazzaniga; Arnau, Santi Bueno, David López, Miguel (Javi Hernández, min. 85); Romeo; Toni Villa (Iván Martín, min. 66), Herrera (Ramon Terrats, min. 85), Aleix García, Valery (Riquelme, min. 62); Castellanos (Stuani, min. 62).
Athletic: First Simon; Lekue (De Marcos, min. 55), Yeray, Íñigo Martínez, Yuri (Balenziaga, min. 46); Vesga (Winner, min. 55), Sancet (Zarraga, min. 69); Williams Jr, Raúl García (Guruzeta, min. 69), Berenguer; and Williams.
the objectives: 1-0, min. 67: David Lopez. 2-0, min. 75: Ivan Martin. 2-1, min. 78: Guruzeta.
Referee: Pizarro Gómez (Madrid committee). He advised the local Romeu (min. 52) and the visitor Yuri Berchiche (min. 35).
Happenings: The match of the 13th round of LaLiga Santander was played at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi in front of 11,420 fans.
see the match sheet
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.
