Express comeback to head steadily towards the next phase

Athletic likes crazy ferris wheels that spin at 1,000 per hour because the engine has broken down and they go crazy. In two minutes he turned around a match that had been lethargic and that reaction allows him to remain undefeated, among the greatest in the Europa League. The changes intervened definitively in that small miracle that the virtual pass grants and even has the aroma of the second round. The lions looked like that eagle from the Bulgarian team ‘Fortuna’, which the Cádiz falconer Víctor Barrios looks after. Express comeback, the first of the season, to head towards two rounds further, without going through the drink of the sixteenth.

Razgrad’s pulse was stuck, moving at the pace set by the Ludogorest, who moved forward with Marcus. Valverde shook the shaker. De Marcos, the replacement for a dull Gorosabel, put in a good cross from the right and what Iñaki Williams did was pure virguería. Like the 2-0 against Espanyol in the League. He received it with his back turned, oriented it, turned and scored a great goal. A minute later, Unai Gómez, another newcomer to the game, made a great drive through the central axis and gave way to Serrano. He hit a very powerful left foot that grazed Son’s hip. That’s called taking advantage of opportunities.. He had not seen a goal since May, with Racing de Ferrol, and as a lion he only did so in January 2022, against Rayo. That flash of inspiration was definitive, it changed the plan for the premises and even allowed for a peaceful ending, with the option of expanding the rent. Football is about sensations and sometimes a spark is enough to sink a rival who has things on track. The best way to attack an opponent is when they are touched. Major festival of the 500 brave people of Bilbao who traveled far away. A minute of magic got the group out of the mess, two flashes to get out of the way.

On the very hard grass of the Huvepharma Arena there was hardly any red and white news in the first half. If it were a tennis match, you could say it looked like Wimbledon, but in reality it was the cement of the US Open, slippery on top. Iñaki had a couple of opportunities that went to limbo, as if continuing the lions’ fair shotgun against Betis. They weren’t easy shots, but they could have moved the score. One came very high and did not hit well with his instep and in another, a corner in the 19th minute that Verdon, the former French central defender from Alavés, ate, received such an unexpected gift that he did not have time to put the interior.

Jovicevic’s team had the idea very clear, and they faithfully expressed it. Three lines very close together behind, waiting for some error in a delivery to set up ultra-fast transitions. Eleven to defend and four, the two midfielders and the forwards, to look for joy up top exploring the back of the visiting defense. Of course, the 1-0 came after a corner, very poorly cleared by Yuri, in the center, where Marcus finished off with a great shot. It had to be reviewed for possible offside by Duarte, but he caught Iñaki Williams coming out and he left one foot behind. They already had their first goal in the European competition.

Marcus himself scored the second for the Bulgarians, but this time he was crossed out for an illegal position. Lugogorets did not have great quality in the center, with Yordanov and Duarte, and they relied on the wingers. The idea was to try to find the back of these. Duah also had his own. Another error, this time by Gorosabel five meters in front of the dividing line of both fields, was the preamble for a new local counterattack that Markus could not lead to a goal.

For great evils, drastic measures. Valverde chose to make three changes in the 55th minute, something unusual for him, with Vesga, who was making his debut this year in Europe, Serrano and De Marcos. There was a flash, but no continuity. After two red and white attacks, Ludogorets’ reply arrived. The panorama did not change much. Between Yuri and Paredes they got a compromised ball from Duah. Nico Williams took responsibility because either he was overpowering or there were going to be no open situations. The substitutes finally changed the landscape in two minutes. Herrera, another who came on as a refresher, almost made it 1-3 with a shot into the top corner that Padt saved. Then Iñaki had another one. The Bulgarians ended up full of helplessness. After a tough tackle by Serrano on Rick, a small fight broke out. Seco and Gropper went to scold him. The only thing they could ‘reproach’ the kid for is that he plays football like angels.

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