Athletic Club 1-2 Espanyol
While Athletic Club came into the match as the Champions League side, there is little doubt which team looks closer to being one next season. Los Pericos continued their fine run of form at San Mames, against an Athletic that feel powerless to arrest their own slump.
The home side started off on the front foot, winning the battle in the middle of the pitch, with both sides seeking to move the ball forward quickly after recovering it. Los Leones forced Marko Dmitrovic into a good early save, but and Alex Berenguer was thwarted by a second brilliant stop from the Serbian from their best move of the first half, released into a good position by Nico Williams.
Leandro Cabrera and Carlos Romero also took outstanding action to evade the opener with two blocks on Sancet and Berenguer, but eventually a wasteful Athletic attack capitalised on their pressure. A deflected Williams shot squibbled behind the defence, and Berenguer was quicker than both Ivan Calero and Dmitrovic to nip in and finish neatly.
This is not to say Espanyol were being outplayed though. Roberto Fernandez raced behind a backline, having troubled Inigo Lekue all night, and rounded Unai Simon, but couldn’t keep his feet to finish. On the verge of the half though, a free-kick won by Fernandez was cleared to Romero on the edge of the box, who side-footed his volley into the far corner with superb technique.
Espanyol in control in the second half
Espanyol had been growing into the game, and continued their trajectory in the second half. Tyrhys Dolan got the better of Adama Boiro on the right flank, and found the corridor of peril between the defence and Simon, which Pere Milla burst into with devastating effect.
A goal down with half an hour to go, Athletic began to launch crosses into the box, but in comparison to the first half, there was little sense of danger. Now managing the game, Espanyol looked just as likely to score whenever Edu Exposito or Kike Garcia found a way past the Athletic pressure, albeit in very different styles.
Only in the throes of desperation and the final 10 minutes did the threat augment. Gorka Guruzeta skimmed the top of the net with a header, warning of the onslaught, before Berenguer forced a strong save from Dmitrovic. Now into stoppage time, Oihan Sancet could not hit the target with what appeared to be their final chance. Unai Gomez, the unfortunate forward who couldn’t bulge the net with Dmitrovic on the floor and a loose ball at his mercy.
Manolo Gonzalez’s men, who continue to demonstrate as much grit and grind as they do quality and smarts, are firmly in the European race, even if their manager disputes it. Los Pericos move within two points of 4th-place Villarreal, on a run of five straight wins.
Ernesto Valverde will analyse the match later this week, but it is unlikely to make him less hot around the collar; Athletic missed sufficient chances to feel unjustly beaten. Nevertheless, it continues Athletic’s sense of impotency, 10 points from Espanyol, five from Real Betis in 6th spot.
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