Such is the magnitude of what happened this Sunday at Benito Villamarín, in the victory of Betis against Athletic (3-2) that it is convenient to leave the adjectives for later and start with the facts:

1) Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez is a 38-year-old and 140-day footballer who has been a professional for 20 seasons, 19 of them in the First Division.

2) Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez has marked at that age the first hat-trick of his life to match, on the 15th day of the championship, his best scorer record for 15 seasons.

3) Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez has thus become the most veteran footballer in scoring three goals in a League match, beating one Alfredo di Stefano .

4) And, most surprising of all, Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez did all that in 20 minutes.

The adjectives would come now, but the truth is that they almost remain, because the data speaks for itself. Joaquín is the infinite legend of beticism, also of Spanish football. He has saved for what should be the twilight of his career, no matter how it seems, his greatest work of art, a performance that will endure over time for irrational, for magic, for extraordinary.

But if you ask Joaquín, he will say that the important thing was not his number of goals, but that his Betis added his third consecutive victory and continued the growth he has experienced in recent weeks. He had to suffer in the second half against an Athletic who never gave up, but resisted the rojiblanco harassment and Joaquin himself was about to mark the fourth in the discount to put a clasp on his game that, in fact, he did not need.

Everything was seen for sentencing in an initial 20 minutes in which Betis touched perfection. Joaquín premiered his account a minute and a half after the game, after a powerful Emerson entrance on the right wing and a shot in the area after controlling the ball. In the 11th, it was Álex Moreno , the other side, who deepened his area so that his captain defined with a precise shot adjusted to the post. And in the 20th, Joaquín crowned his hat-trick after a robbery of Guardado in the center of the field and a driving of Loren .

Athletic, which came from four wins and a draw in the last five games, had been a rag doll violently shaken by a gigantic Betis and so it remained throughout the first half. He was fortunate, of course, that Álex Moreno committed a child penalty with his hand on the edge of rest. Williams, in the absence of Raúl García , Muniain and Aduriz , was responsible for transforming it.

The goal gave air to an Athletic who believed that the comeback was possible. Garitano went on to play with a 3-4-3 after the break and ordered a combat dunk. The intention was the whole Bilbao, but lacked the precision and temperance to complete their attack moves. He could only do it with one, a whiplash of Yuri from more than 30 meters that came attached to the base of the post. He tried until the end Athletic, with Simon saving the rush of Betis, but could not prevent the prevailing Joaquin hat-trick.

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  • Williams
  • Raul Garcia
  • Real Betis Football
  • Athletic Bilbao

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