Athletic will go into the competitive break in the Champions League zone and have qualified for the next round of the Cup. The lions closed out their last match before the World Cup in Qatar with a sweaty victory over Alzira who sold their defeat dearly. The people of Bilbao had their chances to win by a wider margin, but Agirrezabala, the starter at the expense of Unai Simón, also prevented them from going through difficulties in some stages of the second half.
Berenguer opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Nico Williams made the final 0-2 one breath from the break. The locals were brave from almost the exact moment the ball started rolling. Far from withdrawing in their own half, the blaugranas looked to the Bilbaon to get the ball out and push their line of pressure further in a bid to narrow the gap on the scoreboard to get back into the tie.
It wasn’t all positive news for Athletic on this cup night. His three World Cup players were in good physical condition to join their respective teams, but Yuri left the field blindfolded before the final whistle.
For Alzira, in the relegation zone in the League, this match against Athletic became another special reason in the midst of celebrating their centenary as a club. A few days ago, in this same scenario, the Catalan team suffered a defeat that prevented them from proclaiming themselves champions of the Federation Cup. 0-2 against Arenteiro in extra time meant the sacking of Fran Alcoy as coach. Marc García, his replacement, showed only three variations regarding the rivalry against the Galician team that included a change of system.
Valverde, who in his cupbearer debut as coach of the rojiblanco first team suffered one of the biggest disappointments of his career when he was dismissed at Torrelavega, used rotations to meet this challenge. Six changes compared to last Tuesday against Valladolid. Agirrezabala was placed under the sticks at the expense of Unai Simón; Iñigo Martínez and Yuri return to defense; Raúl García and Berenguer had a place in the middle of the field and Villalibre acted as a striker.
The Lions made it clear from almost the opening whistle that they were serious. Villalibre had two clear chances before minute 5 and Berenguer also tried. Both were made in the first quarter of an hour 0-1. The man from Gernika recovers and passes the ball through the hole and the Navarrese, with plenty of free meters ahead, stands up to Lluis Andreu and beats him low.
From then on, the people of Bilbao took the accelerator and Alzira began to impose their consolidated football and find their options from set pieces. Marenyà came close to equalizing with a shot from outside the area that went just wide. The lions, aware of the danger they were running into, came back to add more rhythm to their game and hit the front of goal again shortly before the break. World Cup player Nico Williams, through a pass from Berenguer, made it 0-2.
Villalibre and Yuri signed the third after the break, but Alzira soon made it clear to Athletic that they would not hand over the spoon. Agirrezabala averts greater evils for the Bilbao team. Zarzo and Ramón López entered the local team at a stage of the match where the Catalans began to trouble the Bilbao crowd.
Valverde then opted to look for solutions on the bench. First he brought on Iñaki Williams for his brother Nico, then he gave a simultaneous entry to Lekue and Vencedor and closed the chapter on the substitutions of Guruzeta. The situation calmed down again for the visitors who even had some pretty clear options to make the third.
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.
