The Athletic Club stopped this Monday Levante in San Mamés, prevailing by three goals to one in a clash in which it took him a while to open the can, then he threatened with a landslide and in the end he ended up with a clear victory that allows those of Marcelino García Toral to look at some european posts which has 4 points.
Mikel Vesga He opened the scoring after the hour of play with a header on the plate, Iñaki Williams put the 2-0 against, Oier Zarraga the 3-0 penalty and George of Fruits, in an excellent personal move the final 3-1. Alex Berenguer, who provided the assists for the first and second goals, was the best of the game.
With this victory, Athletic continues in eighth, although now two points behind seventh and four behind sixth; while Levante, whose streak of seven points has been cut in three games with only one goal against, continues to be seven points from salvation.
The clash started with a more creative red and white line-up than ValenciaLevante with a 5-2-3 formation that has given them profits in recent games and two corner kicks in favor of the visitors.
It was not indicative of what would come later because it was a siege during the first quarter of an hour in which if the locals did not get ahead it was because of Williams’ inexperience against Cárdenas after a great pass from Muniain.
The local captain monopolized the attacking game of his own and, helped by Berenguer, Yuri and Victorthe arrivals followed one another in the area of a firm Cárdenas who overwhelmed Williams in a Vencedor cross from the right, in the 4th minute. Neither the referee, Muñíz Ruiz, nor the VAR considered the action punishable.
Levante came out alive from that first rojiblanco arreón and he stretched for the first time with Roger, who almost caught a serve from Simón.
It was a mirage because Athletic charged into the rival area again and generated up to four chances to score in just two minutes, from 28 to 30. In the first, a good shot by Sancet met a feline Cárdenas; in the second, a header from Íñigo with a clearance from Miramón under the sticks; in the third, Berenguer, in a splendid cross shot, with Cárdenas the crossbar; and the fourth was diverted to Yuri.
There yes, Levante answered with dangerfirst with a shot from the edge of Morales that crashed into the crossbar, and a shot at the near post by Roger, to the center of De Frutos.
A couple of blunt headers from Sancet and Íñigo and Morales’ injury, which due to the ‘Comandante”s gestures seemed serious, gave way to half-time with an incredibly goalless scoreline.
Athletic resumed its siege with the start of the second half, although with more spaced arrivals. In the first two Williams and Berenguer, who were unable to direct two low centers parallel to the goal line, delved into the impression that tonight for Athletic it was not.
But the third time was the charm. And the one who found a goal was precisely Vesga, one of those, in principle, least destined for it. But the left-hander from Vitoria, in a play that he started himself, finished off a great cross by Berenguer from the right with a plank at the far post.
Athletic opened the can and it didn’t take long for the second to arrive. In another excellent pass from Berenguer, the best of the match. The Navarrese served Williams on the counterattack as Muniain usually does and the fast striker from Bilbao this time does not forgive the rival goalkeeper.
He put the icing on the cake for the rojiblanca match Zarragaconverting Pepelu’s own penalty from eleven meters into a great play against Nico Williams, whom no one could stop after receiving from Unai Simón.
And now that time was up, Jorge de Frutos, in a great individual move in which he beat De Marcos, Vivian and Simón with a subtle mincemeat, made the final 3-1.
Datasheet:
3 – Athletic: Unai Simón; De Marcos, Yeray, Íñigo Martínez (Vivian, m.55), Yuri; Berenguer, Vencedor (Petxarroman, m.78), Vesga, Muniain (Nico Williams, m.73); Sancet (Zarraga, m.73) and Iñaki Williams (Villalibre, m.78).
1 – Levante: Cardenas; Miramón, Rober, Duarte, Cáceres (Cantero, m.71), Son (Franquesa, m.84); Pepelu, Melero (Malsa, m.71); De Frutos, Morales (Bardhi, m.47+) and Roger (Dani Gómez, m.84).
Goals: 1-0, m.63: Vesga. 2-0, m.76: Iñaki Williams. 3-0, m.87: Zarraga, from penalty. 3-1, m.91: De Frutos.
Referee: Alejandro Muñíz Ruiz (Galician Committee). He showed a yellow card to the local Berenguer (m.14) and to the visitors Miramón (m.20) and Son (m.37).
VAR Referee: Iglesias Villanueva (Galician Committee).
Incidents: Match of the 27th day of LaLiga Santander, played in San Mamés before 29,485 spectators.
