Athletic put an end to Alavés’ winning streak at home, where they had added all possible points
With this victory, the Bilbao team is momentarily in the Champions zone.
Not even the Mendizorroza fort could put an end to Athletic’s winning streak. Thanks to goals from Iñaki Williams and Sancet, one in each half, the Bilbao team beat an Alavés team that to date had scored all possible points at home. The defeat against Real Madrid in the debut in San Mamés is already a long way off for Valverde’s pupils, who momentarily storm the Champions zone after adding 13 points from the last 15.
Confidence works wonders for a squad, and from the opening whistle it was clear that Athletic arrived in Mendizorroza at a good time. The Bilbao team built their superiority from the center of the fieldwhere the connections of Vesga, De Galarreta and Sancet followed one another without the Vitorians being able to do anything to stop them, and Iñaki Williams, who still did not know what it was like to score a goal against Alavés, seemed determined to break this bad streak.
The Ghanaian international’s wishes were soon fulfilled. Taking advantage of a brilliant through ball from Mikel Vesga, the eldest Williams beat Rubén Duarte before getting into a one-on-one situation with Sivera, who he beat with a tight shot against the short post.
Alavés managed to minimize the damage as the minutes passed, but this did not prevent Vivian, coming off a corner, scored the second goal of the match. The center back from Vitoria emerged in the area completely unmarked to connect a header that, to the relief of the locals, crashed against the crossbar.
The effervescence of the first act, which ended with a clash between Vivian and Kike, evaporated after passing through the locker room. The result was a somewhat insipid start. until Kike starred in two great occasions to shake it up. Both were frustrated by Unai Simón.
The babazorro team was getting dangerously close to a tie, which caused Athletic’s reaction. Iñaki Williams had the chance to put an end to the uncertainty, but he wasted a clear scoring chance.
The people of Bilbao would not have to regret this mistake for long, since Sancet, from the front, cleaned the cobwebs from Sivera’s goal to end the match. Alavés had very clear chances after the ‘Lince’ goal, but they were unable to disturb the scoreboard
Already in the final stretch, the bad news came in the form of an injury. De Galarreta went down due to muscle discomfort, and he was unable to continue the match. Without knowing his reach, the projection of the former Mallorca player is once again hampered by an untimely injury.