The break for the World Cup in Qatar did not go well for Athletic. The rojiblancos reached the delay of the league tournament in the Champions zone and three days after the restart they do not have a single European place. From what happens to be only two points away from third, Real; the lions now share the eighth position with Rayo de Iraola and nine with the San Sebastian team, which continues to maintain and consolidate its third place.
Saturday’s Anoeta derby was mediated by a strict, not to say unfair, dismissal of Yeray which resulted in a penalty and a goal from Oyarzabal in the 60th minute of the game. 3-1 against an old rival with numerical superiority became an insurmountable wall for a team from Bilbao who, despite everything, did not give up and kept their form as much as they could. The red in its midst avoided seeing how far Bilbao’s reaction might have gone.
Beyond the arbitration controversy, Athletic was judged at the Reale Arena for its rival’s best performance and its own mistakes. This is not a day for gifts and Valverde’s have indulged in plenty. In all local purposes there are several depicted lions.
The first was born from a ball fought and headed by Zubeldia against a passive Nico Williams who arrived at Sorloth with De Marcos breaking offside. The second was losing the ball at the start of Vesga against a brave David Silva. The third, the penalty, starts from a pass without looking back from Nico Williams that ends with the boots of Take Kubo. Too many concessions.
All these actions and some others have a starting point of pressure and intensity of Imanol players in disputes. Something Athletic has always associated with derbies, but the colors are changing. People from San Sebastian proved to be more plugged in.
Just like the match against Betis
Valverde bet on Anoeta for the same starting eleven as Villamarín. Eleven a day later against Osasuna in San Mamés showed Zarraga’s only change for Dani García. The man from Getxo, the best lion against the rojillos, surprisingly stayed on the bench against Real.
The rojiblanco coach instructed Guruzeta to stay close to Zubimendi when the txuri urdin ball was released while Dani García, Vesga and Sancet controlled Silva, Brais Mendez and Merino, respectively. The technical quality of the local midfielders and the invaluable help from Take and Sorloth provide solutions to San Sebastian’s team and Bilbao’s player problems. The sense of danger sent by both teams with the ball is not the same. Chances, however, were split evenly (one Brais, another Iñaki Williams) until the Norwegian opened the scoring.
Athletic were at the mercy of a Real who signed the second through Take Kubo in a quick counter after Vesga’s inexplicable miss. Therein lies one of the differences. The txuri urdin needs a little to scare a lot. The rojiblancos, on the other hand, have struggled to reach the top.
Athletic’s merit in this complicated situation lies in closing the gap before the break. Sancet, the best lion in Anoeta, ended the good combination of Nico Williams and Yuri. The second half started with a team from Bilbao determined to find a tie. When Valverde chose to move a piece, bringing Berenguer to replace Guruzeta to move Williams to their natural positions, came the controversial, if not to say non-existent, penalty from Yeray to Take.
Oyarzabal, as usual, was unforgiving and the remaining half hour of play was left. La Real committed themselves to passing the minutes against an Athletic who lacked one with their arms up until the final whistle.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
