Bilbao, Spain.- Athletic Club achieved its first victory in the 2024-2025 League after defeating Valencia 1-0, which has yet to open its scoring.
Mexican goalkeeper Alex Padilla, who played the first two games, returned to the Bilbao bench and Julen Agirrezabala was the starter.
A header from Beñat Prados on the stroke of half-time (45′) from a cross from captain Óscar de Marcos was enough for the red-and-whites to beat Rubén Baraja’s team at home, who have lost all their matches. It was the first goal for the 23-year-old Navarrese midfielder in Athletic’s first team.
The Basques, fifth in the last edition of the Spanish championship, provisionally occupy eighth position in the table with four points.
The home team manager Ernesto Valverde made several changes to the starting eleven compared to the defeat suffered last weekend at the Lluis Companys stadium against Barcelona (2-1). Among them the return of Agirrezabala between the sticks after having missed the first two games due to injury, while the regular starter, the Spanish international Unai Simon, is also recovering from wrist surgery. The team’s great star, the winger Nico Williams, also started on the bench and only played the last half hour. For the Valencian team, harmless in attack, their best player was the Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose signing by Liverpool for 2025 was announced on Tuesday night. In another game, Atletico Madrid drew 0-0 at the Metropolitano against a newly promoted Espanyol who had lost their two previous matches. Without Antoine Griezmann from the start – although the French star came into play after the break – but with their signings Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sorloth, Diego Simeone’s men had the best chances, but were unable to reflect their superiority on the pitch on the scoreboard. Atlético, who saw two goals disallowed for Spanish midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme for offside, are fourth in the table with five points (one win and two draws), four behind leaders Barcelona, two behind Villarreal and one behind Celta de Vigo.
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