Athletic maintains distances with Villarreal | Soccer | Sports

He in his fight for the fourth place and with the draw in the ceramics maintains the distances with the Villarreal and continues with his streak. He has only lost one of the last 22 games. The locals ended up frustrated after a great first half that had no continuity in the second.

Athletic was starting with a gale in front. Marcelino’s Villarreal used the same weapons that the rojiblancos usually use and was launched to the approach on the goal of Unai Simon, which seemed the only one that preserved serenity in the Bilbao team, uncomfortable by yellow pressure in their own field, and without the capacity to replicate the rapid combinations of the premises, which in the first ten minutes suffocated to their rival.

Without creating clear occasions, but restlessness, Villarreal managed to put the Athletic players, who lost balls as if there were no tomorrow. However, the first clear opportunity was rojiblanca. It was the exception to the rule that marked the submarine, because the Basques remained rough in all their lines, so they began to allow more dangerous arrivals, such as Barry, which was left to Cardona so that his shot was stopped by Unai, or the auction, perhaps precipitated, of Ayoze, who also found the goalkeeper.

For Athletic it was unvoyed, although after a robbery of Guruzeta, the clearest occasion of the first part was for his side, because Nico’s pass from the bottom line passed his brother Iñaki between his legs only in front of the goal.

After the break, things changed, more than anything, because Villarreal could not keep the climbing rhythm of the first half. The legs began to weigh more, and that took advantage of Athletic to temper the game. He decided to play more peacefully and knead the ball as much as possible. The game slowed down a lot, and although with what it had in front, at least it was no longer the nerves as in the first 45 minutes.

In fact, the greatest dangers of Villarreal began to arrive through the speed of their tips, when the inaccuracy of the Bilbao allowed them to recover the ball. They were not fine jauregizar and meadows, so any detail in midfield favored yellow interests. Barry had the best option in a cross ball that played slightly lived and confused the striker, who in the race raised the ball over the goal.

The local striker was canceled a goal for a previous hand, and in the final stretch, of Gueye, who had been in the field for ten minutes, he ended up in the expulsion of the Villarreal player, who with ten on the field resigned himself to the draw and Athletic did not squeeze too much, because he already looks at the Rangers on the horizon.