Inma Lidón
Updated Monday, February 19, 2024-23:11
Athletic
has dressed as the protagonist this season
.
He wants the Cup, he dreams of the Champions League and, in the process, he propped up
Real Madrid
in the lead, six points ahead. San Mamés is his fortress and this was proven by
Girona
, a victim of gross errors that he could not offset with goals despite maintaining faith and composure.
Ernesto Valverde
was very clear
about how to neutralize a team that is beginning to be less fearsome. Without ever giving up on his proposal, the rivals have found the Achilles heel of the revelation team just when their players are burdened by responsibility and are beginning to be more down-to-earth. Neither
Savinho
is such an artist, nor
Miguel Gutiérrez
is a lethal weapon in attack, nor is
Dovbyk
an indomitable tank. That's when, even if it is the team that comes back the most in the League, mistakes pay dearly.
Athletic reminded him of this in the first breath of the game, when a throw-in complicated everything. In the offload,
Aleix
appeared to start the play with a horizontal pass to Arnau who caught a mischievous
Berenguer
in front to beat Gazzaniga with a tight shot to the post. If you give this Athletic, as surprising as Girona, the slightest advantage in San Mamés, they take advantage of it.
The impact of the blow to Girona, still without Míchel on the wing due to suspension, lasted and he was even able to receive more because
Iñaki Williams
saw his moment. On the run he leaned on Unai Gómez to take a shot that, this time, Aleix García blocked. He did not give up and, before the 10th minute was up, he tried again without being able to properly hook the back pass that
Guruceta
served him from the baseline
.
Without feeling comfortable, Girona tried to stretch and
Tsygankov
forced Unai Simón to take a handball to save the tie. But this occasion was a mirage that soon went out because Athletic, with speed and high pressure, were suffocating the Catalan team, who
did not have a second to think about what to do with the ball
and trembled every time the eldest Williams started. . He feinted but did no damage because he hit the post with the opportunity to increase the lead.
The game did not let up and if
Yangel Herrera
had the tie, once again Iñaki headed a cross from Yuri into the goalkeeper's body on the stroke of half-time. Leaving Girona alive could be risky and upon returning from the locker room it was proven.
Míchel reorganized his team and began to be recognizable. So much so that
Tsygankov
achieved the tie by scoring a cross from Iván Martín. The most difficult thing seemed to be done and now all they had to do was sleep through a duel that Athletic was still determined to drive crazy. Impossible because Girona continued to make mistakes as soon as they felt the encouragement of their rivals.
This time it was
Miguel Gutiérrez
who hesitated surrounded by red and white, he wanted to come out with a backheel and but Guruceta beat him to give Berenguer his second goal. The mental burden seemed to increase when
Iñaki Williams landed a very long pass from Yeray
behind the defense to, with a carom off the post, score the third. He sought the fourth by taking advantage of a mistake by Gazzaniga that the goalkeeper corrected.
There is no suffering that blurs Girona, which is why it is capable of winning games that seem doomed. That was what he tried in San Mamés when
Eric García
reduced the score by heading the free kick that Aleix García took at the far post. The indisposition of a fan in the stands cooled the Catalan reaction, which came close and had its best chance in added time, first with a hit by
Savinho
that Simón came out to cover and, with the goal empty, with a missile from
Solis
that saved They lived with their faces on the same goal line. It was not possible to avoid a third game without victory.