The final is so close and so far at the same time ... Muniain's lonely goal in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals brought Athletic one step closer and complicated even more modest (and historic) Granada qualifying for the match for the title. A miracle may be needed in Nuevo Los Cármenes to achieve the goal, but the only sure thing is that the Nasrid team will not be banned from dreaming. Probably, that last word is the one that best defines the environment in the Andalusian province before the opportunity to do something so great.

Before the lions, those who will try to tame them appear on the scene. Domingos Duarte, in the axis of the rear, and Rui Silva, in the goal . Both Portuguese are completing a fantastic season, as are all the pupils of Diego Martínez, who came to command the league table at the end of October. Both the goalkeeper and the defender, who arrived without making any noise, now aspire to go to the European Championship thanks to their Granada explosion. The 26-year-old goalkeeper, who cost a million euros from Madeira National, is celebrating his third season in the team and has not stopped growing: substitute the first year, basic in the ascent and one of the best of First now . Thus he has managed to sow doubt in Fernando Santos by placing himself at the level of the usual three: Rui Patricio, Beto and José Sá. Only the first of them competes in one of the five major leagues (the English Wolverhampton), as Beto plays in Turkey and Sá in Greece. The coach has already recognized that there are changes.

As for the numbers, Rui Patricio , head of the selection, presents similar statistics that the Nasrid and even loses. He has zeroed his goal seven times for Silva's ten and has conceded 34 points in the 28 Premier League games that he has put on his gloves. For its part, the Granada goalkeeper has collected the ball from within their networks 30 times (one less than Ter Stegen, for example) in the 25 clashes played. In addition, in the percentage of interventions of each one the winner of LaLiga also wins, as Patricio reaches 2.75 stops per game and Silva goes to 3.04 per game. These figures have not yet reached for Santos to summon him with the current European champion, but his age (six years less than Rui Patricio and 12 than Beto) can open a substitute position thinking about the future,

However, to get to send the ball to the networks you have to face the defense first and the leader of it in the Nasrid team is Domingos Duarte. The center, 24 years old and new this year in Granada, where it came from Sporting in Lisbon after transfer to ElDepor, has not trained all week, but is expected to play today. It is no accident that he is the field player who has played the most minutes this year among Martinez, since he has started 25 league games and only one has been lost due to penalty. The fortress overlooked is the greatest virtue of the defender of Cascais, which has imposed a height of 1.92 meters a total of 57 times in aerial duels in the domestic tournament. Its size makes it a safe value in the plays with a stopped ball. His participation with the Portuguese absolute has not yet occurred, but it was a fixture in the U19 and U20, where he was runner-up in Europe and was eliminated in the quarterfinals against Gabriel Jesus Brazil in the World Cup, respectively.

For both, there is not only the option of reaching the final of the Cup. The joy would be double because it would serve as a showcase to be able to show their skills before the possible call to represent their country. The lions will go to Nuevo Los Cármenes with the intention of doing a lot of damage with their great offensive potential. This Portuguese duo will be responsible for stopping the Williams, Aduriz or Muniain , with one eye on the semifinal and another in the Euro 2020, it will not be a distraction as an addition. Both Rui Silva and Domingos Duarte want to shine and the Basques are the last stone on the way to the great showcase. So far, the club has already called on its fans to receive the team. Among those fans, Miguel Ríos stands out, who has even modified the lyrics of his famous rock and roll Welcome to give him a football sense and support the people of Granada. We will see if the music accompanies Duarte and Rui Silva to interpret this rock and, who knows, if a fado this summer for Europe.

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