It is difficult to understand that Athletic did not beat Betis. There are results in football that are difficult to explain and this is one of them. The rojiblancos passed over Pellegrini’s team from the first minute to the lastbut they were again denied in front of goal as in their worst times. In those in which they deserved to win but the rival, with only one arrival, attacked San Mamés. He hovered over that feeling at times… and it would have been too unfair.
On a day when football should never have been played due to the suffering that all Valencians are suffering, the distribution of points means a new ‘stick’ for a Basque team that has been leaving too many points behind in recent weeks. A victory in the last five games does not allow them to take the definitive step to attack the Champions League, while the Andalusians celebrate getting something positive to maintain their comeback.
[Consulta la clasificación de la LaLiga]
Athletic could not have done better in the first half. It is difficult to complete 45 more rounded minutes in terms of the game, with a team that tied up Betis, put them in their field and submitted them again and again. Pellegrini’s men were unable to turn and breathe with at least two or three passes. The red and white central defenders pushed, Galarreta and Prados stole and they ran that line of three formed by the Williams brothers and Oihan Sancet, with Djaló giving even more depth to the space today. Perraud and, above all, Bellerín suffered from the pace and insistence of an Athletic team that had to score before the break.
It’s not an exaggeration. Three sticks, a save by Rui Silva after a close-range shot by Iñaki and an incomprehensible error by Sancet practically no goalkeeper attest to this. No team had come up against the wood so much in the first half since 2022, when Real Madrid also hit three goals against Levante. With each action, San Mamés threw his hands over his head, but encouraged even more. It was a 45 minute siege without a break.. Seven shots, for only one from a Betis that had more of the ball, but did not know what to do with it at any time during that first act in La Catedral.
Before the opening quarter of an hour, Nico Williams had already warned with a shot from the penalty spot that went high, although he seemed to be ahead. A similar situation, again with a lateral center, ended at the near post of the night after a shot by Sancet. The Navarrese player was able to get even just a few minutes later, after the best play of the match. A remote-directed pass from Galarreta, a masterful control from Iñaki on the run and a low cross to the far post that Sancet finished off in a surprising way.
It already seemed like a joke in bad taste, but it was even worse when Iñaki hit the corner with a shot from the left corner of the area. Three minutes later, the older brother again finished off a cross from Djaló from inside the small area. There was no way. The recipe, however, seemed clear, because All occasions came with crosses to the far post from the left sector of the Bilbao attack.o.
There was even more, with a couple of assists that did not find a finisher in the Betic area and, again, with a stick from Paredes after a corner. Believe it or not, what should have been a rout at halftime was a goalless game. And although it is a classic and hackneyed comment, when it is forgiven… Fornals made the saying true as soon as the second half begantaking advantage of a triple substitution by Pellegrini that seemed to change the face of Betis. It was a mirage.
Sancet’s forgiveness and Berenguer’s success
It was difficult to keep up with the pace of the first half, but Ernesto Valverde’s men did not feel the blow of the Betic goal. They continued trying with the same insistence and the same conviction. Little can be said to this team. Sancet again had two heads-up, but in the first he made a mistake when trying to dribble past Rui Silva and in the second he crossed his shot too far. The Navarrese seemed hurt, and he even apologized to the public when he left the field of play..
Vivian tried seconds later, but the Portuguese responded again, getting bigger and bigger. Agirrezabala also responded with a good intervention, before Berenguer, after a brilliant assist from De Marcos, equalized and ignited the stands even more. San Mamés was already the one of the big nights. That cauldron that turns any attack into an avalanche of emotions until it explodes at the moment of each shot. As in those of Ander Herrera and Gorosabel, again at point-blank range against a huge Rui Silva. But it couldn’t be. Betis saved a point on a day in which Bilbao was once again left feeling too bitter.
Technical sheet:
1- Athletic: Agirrezabala, De Marcos (Gorosabel, min. 79), Vivian, Paredes, Yuri, Galarreta (Herrera, min. 69), Prados (Unai Gómez, min. 79), Iñaki Williams, Sancet (Martón, min. 69), Nico Williams and Djaló (Berenguer, min. 65).
1- Betis: Rui Silva, Bellerín (Sabaly, min. 45), Bartra (Natan, min. 88), Llorente, Perraud, Altimira (Losada, min. 45), Cardoso, Abde, Fornals, Chimy Ávila (Diao, min. 45) y Vitor Roque (Bakambú, min. 71).
Goals: Fornals (52′) and Berenguer (68′).
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