Athletic won away to San Mamés, scoring and conceding goals for the first time so far in this League. Valverde’s men had a three-goal advantage at half-time. Everyone indicated that they would keep it until the end of the match when in the blink of an eye Villarreal beat Unai Simón twice in just one minute.
Obviously, a 0-3 is not the same as a 2-3, but for practical purposes it counts the same. The lions, in other words, added three points in a field they don’t usually do well and jumped to fifth position in the table, overtaking Real and Betis. The final suspense, therefore, should not underestimate the importance of Valverde’s team’s victory.
Yesterday Athletic returned to the scene where last season, competing for a place in the Europa League, they lost by a landslide. The 5-1 defeat overlapped the defeat suffered a day earlier in San Mamés against Betis and, at the same time, reminded the oldest in the area of another yellow hand against the lions in what was then called El Madrigal. On March 31, 2002, the day of Carlos Gurpegi’s debut as a lion, Heynckes’ team lost 5-2 to Villarreal.
The new visit of the lions to the yellow stadium took place in different circumstances than the previous League. The locals, to begin with, have another coach on their bench. Pacheta arrived to take over the position of the dismissed Quique Setién on day 5 of this championship.
Only nine home repeaters
Yesterday, only three of the starting eleven he built the Burgos coach against the Bilbao team last season: Capoue, Parejo and Baena. On the other hand, Valverde took half a dozen of the last eleven players who started the previous Liga in La Cerámica: De Marcos, Vivian, Vesga, Galarreta and Guruzeta thus replacing Yeray, Yuri, Ander Herrera, Dani Garcia and Berenguer. The first three remained in Bilbao injured. The rest started a duel on the bench.
The Athletic’s performance was second to none. 0-3 after just half an hour and there is a general feeling that the situation could be more favorable if the people of Bilbao keep getting closer to the local goal. The sense of control of the situation was not the same in the second half.
The yellows, with more will than faith, suddenly found themselves with a score they never imagined. The lions, then yes, reacted and remained without any problem until they declared victory.
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.
