MADRID, March 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Athletic Club beat Real Valladolid (1-3) this Friday at the start of matchday 26 of LaLiga Santander, three points to raise their chances of reaching European positions and getting out of a bad streak, while the Pucelanos watch relegation closely .
Ernesto Valverde’s men broke a run of four games without winning and three without scoring a goal, with the special resentment of the last clash against FC Barcelona. The Basque team turned the page on the siege of the leader without a prize at the expense of a Valladolid that found itself with options for four minutes with Larin’s 1-2 draw.
Íñigo Martínez celebrated his call from the Spanish team this Friday by opening the can with his first goal of the season. The center-back asked for a direct free kick after half an hour that he hit Óscar Plano and went inside in the 0-1 draw for the Basques. Athletic was already dominating then, despite a good start by the locals with a double chance from Kike Pérez and another from Larin.
The Williams bands gave a Valladolid team a lot of work that had a hard time finding themselves after the goal. As if that were not enough, Athletic exhibited an almost forgotten strike shortly after the restart with the 0-2 score by Guruzeta on a good pass from De Marcos. The entry of Álvaro Aguado and Sergio León redoubled the bet of the locals, but did not finish giving the arrival that was missing.
Those of Pacheta seemed to sign the surrender when Manu Pozo made his debut. The youth squad player came in like a rocket and had the opportunity in his first action, also starring in Larin’s goal to wake up José Zorrilla. The Canadian, in his fifth goal since his arrival in January, gave hope but only lasted four minutes.
In a cross by Nico Williams, Joaquín’s hand led Alberola Rojas to award a penalty without hesitation. A jug of cold water that silenced the stadium, except for the ‘lions’ corner that celebrated Vesga’s 1-3 and three points to go calmly to the national team break. Quite the opposite of a Valladolid team that could fall into the relegation zone this weekend, with a victory in the last six games and with Real Madrid as their next rival.