Injury prevents Pique from completing the match

Depay saves Barcelona from loss against Athletic Bilbao

Memphis Depay.

EPA

Dutch winger Memphis Depay, who was transferred on a free deal from Lyon in the summer transfer market, saved his team Barcelona from losing, by scoring a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao, a quarter of an hour before the end of the match, in the second phase of the Spanish Football Championship, The day before yesterday.

At St Mamés in the Basque Country, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman decided to play with the same squad that played the opening match against Real Sociedad (4-2).

The Basque team pressed strongly at the beginning of the match on its Catalan counterpart, but the first real opportunity was for Barcelona, ​​when his Dutch winger Memphis Debye penetrated to the right and passed a cunning cross into the area. .

Then it was the turn of Athletic Bilbao to threaten the Barcelona goal, when Ohian Sunset hit a powerful ball that hit the crossbar (11).

Depay took a direct free kick, but the Bilbao goalkeeper, Julen Agirisapala, saved it easily (24).

Veteran Barcelona defense pole, Gerard Pique, was injured in the calf and did not complete the match, so Ronaldo Araujo entered his place after half an hour.

At the beginning of the second half, the pressure of the hosts resulted in a first goal, through a powerful header that Inigo Martins shot past goalkeeper Neto, taking advantage of a corner kick by Iker Munayen.

Barcelona threw all his weight to equalize, and Koeman put Serge Roberto and Austrian Youssef Demir, instead of Brathwaite and Badri.

The Catalan team managed to equalize when Busquets grabbed a ball in the middle of the field and passed it towards Depay, who controlled it before firing it at Al Tayer in the Bilbao net, opening his tally of goals with his new team in the local league (75).

In the last seconds, the referee sent off Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, for harassing Nico Williams on the outskirts of the area, and awarded a direct free kick that resulted in nothing.

The two teams met for the fourth time this year, after meeting back and forth in the local league and in the Spanish Cup final.

Draws for Valencia and Villarreal

Valencia snatched a difficult 1-1 draw from its host Granada, when Carlos Soler scored a penalty kick two minutes before the end of the match, to take him out with one point, Saturday, in the opening of the second stage.

Granada advanced through Luis Soares after 16 minutes.

For the second time this season, European champion Villarreal (European League) fell into a goalless draw with its host Espanyol.

Villarreal, who is supervised by the former coach of Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, Unai Emery, fell in his opening match this season in a goalless draw at home against Granada.

Real Mallorca beat its host Alaves with a single goal, taking advantage of the numerical shortage in the ranks of his opponent, who sent him Ruben Duarte after 66 minutes.

The only goal of the match was scored by Fer Niño in the 80th minute.

4 points, Barcelona's tally in the Spanish League, after beating Real Sociedad and drawing against Athletic Bilbao.

The two teams met for the fourth time this year after meeting back and forth in the local league and in the Spanish Cup final.

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