Unrelenting defeat for Athletic on its league debut. Real Madrid took the three points from San Mamés in a fair and deserved manner. The whites proved to be the more solid and compact block, with the clearest ideas and strongest punches in the final meters.
Valverde’s team tried in their own way, but could not get clear and ended up against the domain of a Lunin, a substitute for the injured Courtois, who hardly had to intervene. Unai Simón didn’t have much work to do either, although he conceded two goals before the break and kept out a few more afterwards.
The initial bet of the rojiblanco coach surprised to a certain extent. The coach from Gasteiz made it clear on the eve that the preseason did not respond to the usual canons and had effects on the starting level of the lineup. Too much bone for a team without its usual starters and in the midst of a rebuilding phase, despite the fact that some of the jump starters have been around for a few years now.
Athletic and Madrid, in any case, play in a different League. Nothing new on the horizon. Surely, yes, the meringues thought they would suffer more than a rojiblanco stadium almost overflowing. Only at the start of the clash and at some stages of the second half did it give the impression that the people of Bilbao might see the goal.
Athletic still has a long way to go. Yesterday was the first defeat at home and last season they lost by a lot of points from the former rojiblanco stronghold.
Surprise and tow
Valverde faced this league premiere with a surprise in his line-up. Unai Gómez, in his official debut, completed the midfield ahead of Ruiz de Galarreta and Vesga and with Muniain close to the left wing. Sancet remained on the bench.
Ancelotti, as intuited, was planted in San Mamés with a rhombus in the middle and Kroos and Modric on the bench. Bellingham, the new white signing this summer, played behind Rodrygo and Vinicius, the two Merengue strikers. Fede Valverde, for his part, moved forward on the right wing in support of Carvajal, who was booed by rojiblanca fans every time he touched the ball.
The lions, overflowing into their stadium, got off to a lively start, but it only lasted a few minutes. Madrid became strong behind little by little and began to emerge little by little through the domains of Unai Simón. Athletic, far from using their typical advanced pressure from last season, retreated and had no arguments to damage the attack once they regained the ball. The whites, slowly but surely, began to reach the goal.
Rodrygo, after an earlier shot from him and a later one from Alaba, opened the scoring in the first half hour of the game. Bellingham, due to the passivity of the local defense, made the second of the night a quarter of an hour later. Athletic only had a protest before the break for a Militao entry on Unai Gómez inside the visiting area where VAR did not appreciate anything punishable.
The second half started with three changes for Athletic. Berenguer, Sancet and Guruzeta took to the pitch in a clear attempt by Valverde to turn things around. The lions recovered, but did not worry Lunin. Ander Herrera is his next bet. The whites have been strong behind. The departure of Imanol, a left-back who also made his debut yesterday as a lion, has increased the local attacking options, although he continues to lack punch.
Berenguer managed to close the gap. Vinicius, add them. Unai Simón avoided greater evils against a Madrid that finished with Kroos and Modric on the pitch and Lunin barely breaking a sweat. Good will is not enough.
athletic
02
real Madrid
Athletic: First Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue (Imanol, m.71); Vesga (Herrera, m.64), Galarreta; Nico Williams (Bereneguer, m.46), Unai Gómez (Sancet, m.46), Muniain (Guruzeta, m.46); and Inaki Williams.
Real Madrid: Lunar; Carvajal, Militao (Rudiger, m.50), Alaba, Fran García; Tchouaméni, Valverde, Camavinga (Kroos, m.71), Bellingham; Vinícius (Modric, m.80) and Rodrygo (Joselu, m.80).
the objectives: 0-1, M.28: Rodrygo. 0-2, m.36: Bellingham.
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Extremadura Committee). He showed yellow cards to locals Muniain (m.4), Galarreta (m.66) and Iñaki Williams (m.87) and the visitor Alaba (m.76).
happenings: The match on the first day of LaLiga EA Sports was played in San Mamés in front of 48,927 spectators.
see the match sheet
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.
