Vivian misses her first Athletic appointment

Dani Vivian’s non-game was news to Athletic and he was also substituted midway through the match. The same events took place last week. One is a possible consequence of the other.

The red and white center back suffered a blow to the face with nine minutes remaining in Thursday’s Europa League match played against Roma in the Italian fiefdom and had to leave the field with a bloody face. An injury that required several stitches, but it did not prevent him from entering the squad on Sunday against Sevilla in San Mamés. The defender from Gasteiz was not part of the game, he came out to warm up on the wing and was finally left without jumping on the field of play.

So Vivian missed the first of the nine official matches the lions have played so far. He played six of them in full: Barcelona, ​​​​​​Las Palmas and Leganés and Valencia, Atlético de Madrid and Celta in San Mamés. Against Getafe, on the opening day, he even appeared in the last ten minutes of the match after Paredes was injured with just three training sessions with the rest of the group following his return from the Euro Cup holiday in Germany. and in Rome he was replaced in the 80’s.

Valverde himself confirmed at the end of the clash against Sevilla that Vivian’s absence from the starting eleven was down to a simple matter of effort dose. “He has rested,” the coach of the red and white team specifically pointed out.

The blow to the face suffered in the Europa League premiere, therefore, is not the reason for the absence of the red and white international in the final league match. The Gasteiz coach wants to keep him fresh for two games this week: Thursday against AZ Alkmaar and Sunday against Girona.

Rest day

Vivian’s absence, along with Yeray in the process of recovering from his muscle injury, was covered by Nuñez. Both played together in the league match played in Butarque against Leganés, a match in which the player from Gasteiz scored the first goal.

This time, however, Repelega’s central defender had to share the axis of defense with Paredes. Both faced off in the last minute against Roma. In fact, both are protagonists for the purpose of tying. Berenguer launched a lateral free kick, Nuñez headed from the far post into the center of the area and the Arrigorriaga defender appeared to set up the tie.

Nuñez, on the other hand, was unlucky against Sevilla. This time, the center back on loan from Celta cleared Ejuke’s cross against the crossbar of the goal which was already defended by Padilla and the ball bounced off the body of the young Athletic goalkeeper and slid into the goal in extra time.