Athletic continues an upward trend since it started this Liga with a defeat in San Mamés against Real Madrid. Valverde’s team made it clear on Friday in Gasteiz that their good run after losing to the meringues was no fluke. The Lions, in fact, added 13 points in the last 15 possible.
Last season they also accumulated the same points at the end of the first six days of the domestic championship. A subtle difference between one start and another in this tournament lies in the San Mamés factor. The red and white played four of a half-dozen home games. This time, however, he shared the home clashes with the visitors equally (three and three).
Valverde has also experienced a similar start in Liga (four wins, one draw and one loss in the first six games) from his time as a lion. In the 1993-94 campaign, with Jupp Heynckes on the bench, Athletic defeated Albacete in consecutive order at San Mamés (4-1, with a Julen Guerrero hat trick), Lleida at home (1- 2), a draw in Bilbao against Barça (0-0), victories at Vallecas (1-2) and La Catedral against Zaragoza (2-1) and defeat at Las Gaunas (4-2). Amazingly, Txingurri didn’t score in any of those half-dozen matches.
A firm and determined bet
“They are better, they deserved to win. You can score Kike’s and tie, but they just get better. I think it will be useful for everyone. Athletic is a better team than us, on the day we are not well it will happen. “This is the first game where we’re not the same.”
Luis García Plaza, coach of Alavés, has no objection to the victory of the lions on Friday in Mendizorrotza. Valverde, on the other hand, did not like that his players left the accelerator late in the clash, something that also happened to them in San Mamés against Cádiz and even in Son Moix against Mallorca. Unai Simón avoided major problems for his team in each of the aforementioned matches.
The Athletic coach found a typical lineup in the early part of the championship. In Gasteiz, in fact, they chose the same starting eleven that won just the day before at home. Against Getafe next Wednesday, however, he will not be able to press his bet due to a muscle injury suffered by Galarreta. We will have to wait for the events, but the fact is that the absence of Nico Williams, also due to a physical problem, has been well resolved until the date of Berenguer.
The development of the competition allowed Valverde to set up a defense ahead of Unai Simón with the veterans De Marcos and Yuri on the flanks and the younger Vivian and Paredes on the axis of the rear. The coach has a lot of confidence in this quartet so on Friday he left Yeray on the bench again.
The three inside are also very defined up to Gasteiz. Vesga had the close and crucial support of the now injured Galarreta and Sancet a few meters ahead. It remains to be seen what the solution of the Gasteiztarran coach is to cover the loss of Eibartarra. Dani García was his replacement in the latter half of the Mendizorrotza derby.
It seems that the extremes also have their own names. Iñaki Williams stands every day on the right wing. His brother Nico was also at a high level until he was injured in Mallorca, but Berenguer has managed to rise to the occasion in the last two days.
Guruzeta, finally, took the center forward position after starting on the bench on the first day against Real Madrid in San Mamés. The San Sebastian player, who has accumulated three goals so far, has competition from Villalibre while Raúl García is still waiting a few minutes. It’s not just this. Ander Herrera, another popular veteran, is in the same situation. Rules of results.
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.
