Athletic dominates the Basque derby and distances Real Sociedad by 9 points

Athletic won the Basque derby with a suffering that they should not have suffered, because they dominated from start to finish, but they let themselves go in the final minutes and conceded a goal to Real Sociedad that tightened the score and brought anguish to the stands. dedicated at all times to her team. The red and white team settles in the noble zone after a streak of games that only the most veterans remember. The best thing, however, was that, after 90 minutes in the face of a dog, with some tangana, as the realistic coach Imanol longed for, all the footballers said goodbye with hugs, while the two fans spread out through Pozas to celebrate or mourn in unison. . No problems of any kind.

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Unai Simón, Lekue, Daniel Vivian, Aitor Paredes, Yuri, Ruiz de Galarreta (Ander Herrera, min. 70), Berenguer (Muniain, min. 84), Vesga, O. Sancet (Unai Gómez, min. 70), Nico Williams (Malcom Adu, min. 84) and Guruzeta (Villalibre, min. 73)

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Unai Marrero, Le Normand, Tierney (Aihen Muñoz, min. 80), Zubeldia, Álvaro Odriozola (Elustondo, min. 19), Brais (Jon Ander Olasagasti, min. 80), Merino, Arsen Zakharyan, Martín Zubimendi, Barrenetxea (Jon Magunacelaya, min. 62) and Oyarzabal

Goals 1-0 min. 29: Berenguer. 2-0 min. 42: Berenguer. 2-1 min. 87: Oyarzabal.

Referee José Luis Munuera Montero

Yellow cards Barrenetxea (min. 60), Merino (min. 90) and Elustondo (min. 92)

With a spectacular atmosphere, and only 69 fewer spectators than the record attendance at San Mamés, which occurred in last season's Cup semifinal against Osasuna, a derby was played in San Mamés with many things at stake with two teams who aspire to Europe. The Bilbao victory moved Real away to nine points; Their defeat brought it closer to three, but, in addition, the two teams always play something more intangible, that only the fans of one team or the other can experience, and that is settled year after year, in the Cathedral or in Anoeta, the pride of belonging.

After the nerves at the beginning, and various inaccuracies, in which both teams fell, Athletic took the tone of the match, while Real limped a bit, and made little use of the red-and-white area. However, the people from Bilbao were not correct when entering the Marrero area. Only in a free kick taken by Berenguer, the man who occupies Iñaki Williams' place, did the home team get dangerously close, but Vesga's header went high.

Athletic's danger had to come from the wings, and it did so from the left. After a race with Nico Williams, Odriozola felt a puncture and had to retire from the field. His replacement, Aritz, was broken by the two red-and-white occupants of that area. It was in a dazzling combination, at full speed, with great precision, that he started in midfield, passed Nico and reached Yuri, who reached the baseline and looked back. His parallel cross passed between Marrero's legs and Berenguer pushed him almost on the goal line.

The stands erupted with Athletic's goal, which became even more animated against a Real Sociedad that barely managed to make three passes in a row in the midfield, where the red and white pressure was fierce, with Ruiz de Galarreta becoming a colossus in the recovery. His approaches to Unai Simón's goal were sporadic, scattered, while his rival tried to speed up the game and avoided coming out with the ball from behind when Real pressed. Unai threw long, and his team won aerial disputes that gave him second chances.

Athletic was looking for the second with more conviction than Real was looking for the tie, and it came with a shot into Sancet's space, looking for Nico Williams, this time on the right. The red-and-white striker entered the area, looked for Guruzeta, whose shot was blocked by Zubeldia, but the rebound came again to the timely Berenguer, who placed a soft shot, away from Marrero. The break was near, and Imanol had a lot of work to do in the booth to raise the spirits of his troops.

But it didn't happen. Athletic remained in control, although a little more cautious after leaving the locker room. He had the ball and tried not to let it go; The realistic efforts to obtain it were in vain. Only with the changes was the San Sebastian team refreshed and began to dominate a little more and try more on the wings than inside, where Brais and Merino worked, but found no reward.

Perhaps Galarreta's injury clarified things a little more for them, and in desperation, which was the only way, they pushed Athletic back into their field, although Unai Simón barely had to intervene. In fact, he only did it to get the ball out of the net in the 87th minute, when in a ball that went from side to side, the winger hit, almost involuntarily, Oyarzabal's chest and narrowed the gap on the scoreboard. . But it was too late.

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