Nico Williams once again put on the assistant suit so that his brother Iñaki first and his friend Sancet signed in Athletic’s strong victory against an AZ Alkmaar that showed its face in San Mamés, but more more concerned with defense than attack. The red and white persistence paid off in the last quarter of an hour of the match. Valverde’s side also leapfrogged the Dutch team in the standings by standing with four points after this victory and last week’s draw in Rome.
This was not a showy meeting. The red and white team did not feel comfortable on the pitch despite taking the initiative in the game for most of the minutes. It is more difficult than usual for lions to approach the opposite frame.
He first tried with shots from outside the area. Then there is a more focused attack. All until Nico Williams, who was not having one of his best nights, brought out his class and his teammates did the rest.
Valverde is back in the rotation. The coach from Gasteiz introduced six changes this time, half of them in defense, compared to the eleven he showed the day before against Sevilla in the Liga. The main novelty on the Bilbao side came from the return to the team of the acquired Sancet, who played ahead of the double pivot composed this time of Jauregizar and Galarreta.
AZ Alkmaar, who went to the San Mamés pitch with a more or less expected starting team, stood on the pitch with their usual 4-3-3, but changed their initial system on the fly to stand with the traditional 4 -4 -2. The Dutch are faithful to their football proposal, but this time they need to focus more on prevention than attack. The lions took the initiative of the game, but did not have any clear chances against the visiting goal.
The best of all, without a doubt, consisted of a shot by Yuri shortly after the start of the match that ended with the ball hitting the crossbar before bouncing out. Agirrezabala had to respond moments later to a hard shot from Van Bommel, son of the former PSV, Barça, Bayern and Milan footballer. Good intervention, by the way, from the local goalkeeper who was sent off a few days before against Sevilla.
Nico Williams and especially the aforementioned Yuri and Galarreta closed the chapter of Bilbao’s chances before the break with the same source in almost all cases: shots from outside the area. The lions were superior in the first half, even without Martens’ pupils too much.
The second half started with Nico Williams more active and AZ more confident at the back and gradually gaining momentum in attack. Valverde, aware of the situation, pulled De Marcos to try to give his team more depth in attack. The rival coach then chose to refresh his attack.
The Lions, in the manner of their passionate fans, seemed to be faltering in the attempt until Williams scored the first goal of the night. The little one crossed from his wing and the older one, smart and accurate, won the game against his markers and put the ball behind the visitors’ goal.
Valverde, who already had the advantage on the scoreboard, turned first to Ander Herrera and Berenguer and then to Unai Gómez to give his team oxygen. Martens also looked for solutions on the bench, but found none. The lions, well-equipped at the back and with Iñaki Williams as center forward, condemned them to five from the end with a ‘made in’ Nico Williams play and a goal from the resurgent Sancet.
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.
