Osasuna moved into the market last summer and signed Kike García, recently renewed by Eibar, but with a clause that released him at zero cost in the event of relegation. Jagoba Arrasate needed a forward. Since his arrival, the footballer from La Mancha has enjoyed the confidence of the coach, and has adapted wonderfully to the way of playing that the Basque coach preaches, but he has not made us forget Ezequiel Ávila (Rosario, Argentina; 27 years old), Chimy , the hero of Osasuna before confinement, who has had to overcome two serious knee ligament injuries, and who returned in the last games of last season.
Raze, however, has relegated the Argentine footballer to the bench. He has only played one game as a starter, in the victory against Mallorca (2-3). He has been present in all matches, although he only adds 219 minutes of play. But in La Cerámica he was once again fundamental for Osasuna. In the 81st minute, Kike García injured an ankle and requested the change. Chimy Ávila entered his place. With Villarreal looking for the second goal, he hardly touched balls, but he turned the only one that came clearly to him into a treasure. His team pressed up, the ball reached Mandi who, as in the Metropolitan, made a deadly assignment to Rulli. Ávila was there to take advantage of the gift and beat the goalkeeper by slipping the ball between his legs.
651 days had passed since Chimy Ávila’s previous goal; 93 weeks of anxiety for a scorer. Since January 5, 2020, the stands are still full. It was in Balaídos, and in the 83rd minute he scored the tying goal for his team, in an iron shot. Two weeks later he seriously injured his left knee, against Levante. In September, in a training session in Tajonar, he suffered the same injury but to his right leg. He played again on April 3, against Getafe, and Arrasate gave him minutes in seven more games last season, but failed to score. Until Sunday.
Chimy’s goal marked Osasuna’s fourth consecutive victory as a visitor in the League in four trips: Cádiz (2-3), Alavés (0-2), Mallorca (2-3) and Villarreal (1-2). In the five major leagues, only Naples has an equal record when it leaves its stadium. Twelve of the rojillos’ 17 points have been added away from home, with 10 goals in favor in those trips, only one less than Madrid. Fifth, in European positions. “You can see the collective work of the colleagues,” explains Chimy. “They may be cramping, your ear may hurt, but in the team that was formed, they all run the same. We go step by step jumping obstacles ”. The numbers prove it. Osasuna is the team in the League that has recovered the most balls (589, ahead of Celta), the one that recovers the most balls in the opposite half (165) and the team with the most different scorers in the championship, 10.
“Many emotions come together, they come to your head and I only have words of thanks for those who trusted me, with my mistakes and successes,” said the Argentine footballer at the end of the match in Vila-real; “The goal makes me feel like I’m back to the commander,” said Ávila, a reference to the nickname given to him by his daughter Eluney. “You are the commander of the house and now you must celebrate the goals like this,” he required, while giving him a military salute. “It makes me happy for the Osasunistas who are no longer there because of the pandemic. For my loved ones who are gone. Everything that has happened to me has made me stronger ”, he pointed out.
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