Valverde’s start to his third spell at the head of the Athletic bench surprised locals and strangers alike. The coach from Gasteiz made a starting bet in the first game of the last Liga for a trivot consisting of Sancet and Vesga ahead of Muniain. Villalibre played center forward in that match against Mallorca with Iñaki Williams and Berenguer wide open.
The measure of the offensive level is different in the performance of this League. The midfield triangle was joined on this new occasion by newcomer Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga and rookie Unai Gómez up front with Nico Williams and Muniain acting as extreme theorists and Iñaki Williams as center forward.
Valverde’s ‘invention’ did not work in the first half against Real Madrid. The 0-2 reflected score at halftime came to confirm the manifest superiority of the merengue at the grass level. The Gasteiztarra coach came off the bench with a triple change at half-time. Berenguer, Sancet and Guruzeta jumped to the green instead of Nico Williams, Unai Gómez and Muniain. The eldest of the Williams became the right winger and Guruzeta the striker. Ander Herrera and Imanol later completed the carousel of changes.
On the Athletic bench, needing to score to get back into the game against a superior rival, Villalibre, Raúl García, Adu Ares and Martón were left without playing. Valverde, a year later, is still looking for a center forward who can make up for the team’s shortcomings. All a drag.
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.
