The League entered its final phase, the last ten days where everything is decided, as Luis Aragonés repeated many times. Athletic have reached the final stretch in a good position to achieve European qualification at the end of the season, the goal set by the board, coaching staff and players in a public appearance held on August 10 last year. The victory against Espanyol (1-2) left the rojiblanco team five points behind the sixth position occupied by Betis, the latter which at the moment will allow them to travel to the old continent next year to play in the Conference. It is possible that the seventh will also lead to Europe, but for this Real Madrid will have to win the Cup, which will play in the Champions League and therefore allow another place. But at this point it is speculation. Therefore, it is better to secure at least sixth place.
To do this, the rojiblancos will have to do their best because the calendar is quite complicated. Valverde’s team will face the five teams that occupy the upper zone of the table, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Villarreal, Betis and Osasuna, the last three direct rivals. In addition, they will have to play against two teams from the central zone that still have continental options -Celta and Mallorca-, two more fighting to keep the category -Sevilla and Almería- and Elche, whose mathematical relegation is a matter only. of time.
Jª 29 ATHLETIC-ROYAL SOCIETY (4th)
The first challenge comes this Saturday in San Mamés (4:15 pm): the derby with Real Sociedad. The team of txuri urdin went through a small crisis, but on Saturday they beat Getafe in Anoeta to stay in fourth position, last in the Champions League, with 51 points. He has four in the next classified, Villarreal.
Jª 30 ALMERÍA (16º)-ATHLETIC
After the clash of the highest rivalry in San Mamés, it is time to visit Almería in the match that will be held next Saturday in the Mediterranean Games (16.15). The Andalusians came out of relegation with a victory against Valencia at home (2-1) and previously they added two draws against Celta and Cádiz. They have safety at three points.
Jª 31 ATHLETIC-SEVILLA (13th)
José Luis Mendilibar will visit Bilbao as Sevilla coach for the first of three matchdays during the week. The former Athletic coach had a victory against Cádiz (0-2) and a draw with Celta in Pizjuán (2-2) after dismissing the odd Jorge Sampaoli. The people of Seville opened a gap of five points in the red zone.
Jª 32 MALLORCA (12th)-ATHLETIC
‘Vasco’ Aguirre’s Mallorca came from a draw at home to Valladolid (3-3) and are twelfth in the table, although they can still speed up their options to fight for Europe with ten games left to finish the competition. The Balearic Islands are having a good season although in the last five games they have been deflated with three draws and two defeats.
Jª 33 ATLETIC-BETIS (6th)
The first direct rival and the team marking the distance of five European units. The team led by Manuel Pellegrini fell to sixth position after losing by surprise on Sunday against Cádiz in Benito Villamarín (0-2) and the victory of Villarreal. Accumulate two consecutive defeats after losing the previous day against Atlético (1-0).
Jª 34 VILLARREAL (5º)-ATHLETIC
The second rival to achieve the goal. The yellows rose to fifth place after their victory at the Santiago Bernabéu (2-3) and an excellent run of five wins and a draw in the last six games. They took seven points from the lions. This is an important game to get right for the four games that will close out the 2022-23 season.
Jª 35 ATHLETIC-CELTA (10th)
The Galicians regained the pulse of the competition after the arrival of Carlos Carvalhal on the light blue bench to replace Eduardo ‘Chacho’ Coudet. Celta occupy the middle of the table (10th) and still have options to enter the top tier. They drew with Sevilla and went on a seven game unbeaten run, with four draws and three wins.
Jª 36 OSASUNA (8º)-ATHLETIC
The executioner of the Cup after the 1-0 draw in the first leg of the semifinal and the 1-1 loss to San Mamés. The rojillos have already played in the final against Real Madrid when the lions visit El Sadar in the final matchday of the Liga. If they win the title match of the KO tournament to be played in La Cartuja on May 6, they will secure a place in the Europa League 23-24.
Jª 37 ATLETIC-ELCHE (20th)
A match that must be won yes or yes in San Mamés on the weekend of May 27 and 28. The mathematical descent of Elche is only momentary -they are located 16 points from being permanent with 30 left to play-, but these kind of low-stakes opponents sometimes tend to give unexpected surprises.
Jª 38 REAL MADRID (2nd)-ATHLETIC
A tough match to close the blinders, although Real Madrid have no chance of winning the League. Their eyes are on the Cup final and the Champions League. The best thing for Athletic is for them to become champions of the KO tournament because that way there will be another European place and they will qualify for the Champions League final. To do this they need to eliminate Chelsea in the quarterfinals and the winner of Manchester City-Bayern Munich in the semifinals. In that case, all their efforts will be put into the title clash to be held in Istanbul on June 10.
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.
