There is no team more unfortunate than Almería, which achieved a draw against the fearsome Athletic. But he had the clearest chance to win in the 88th minute, when, with one less player on the pitch, and with his rival upended, he chained a counterattack, carried out to perfection by Melero. Maresi controlled his filtered pass, but Unai Simón’s pass was so big that he tried to tune up too much and his shot grazed the post on the outside. Even so, the Andalusian team did not achieve its first victory of the season.
0
Luis Maximiano, Álex Centelles (Bruno Langa, min. 65), Aleksandar Radovanovic, Edgar González, Marc Pubill, Dion Lopy (Gonzalo Melero, min. 47), Sergio Arribas (Embarba, min. 66), Ramazani, Iddrisu Baba, Lucas Robertone and Lozano (Marezi, min. 66)
0
Unai Simón, Aitor Paredes, Yuri, De Marcos, Yeray, Vesga (Ander Herrera, min. 66), Williams, Unai Gómez, Ruiz de Galarreta (O. Sancet, min. 66), Berenguer (Malcom Adu, min. 73) and Villalibre (Raúl García, min. 45)
Goals
Referee Victor García Verdura
Yellow cards Ramazani (min. 26), Marc Pubill (min. 33), O. Sancet (min. 84) and Gonzalo Melero (min. 89)
Athletic wanted to impose its hierarchy from the beginning, but Almería immediately came out with a responsive team, which tempered the visitors’ impulses in three consecutive arrivals, to respond to the two that the Bilbaoans had had in separate shots from outside the area. Of course, Garitano’s team, as its classification indicates, is not very skilled when it comes to tightening the screws on its rival, although, after Luis Suárez’s long injury, it was finally able to have a specific center forward, Choco Lozano, in your alignment.
The Almeria impulses softened as the first half progressed, and Athletic once again took control of the game, but they lacked strength in the midfield, where Vesga and Unai Gómez circulated imprecisely with the ball at their feet and their mistakes had repercussions on distribution to the hot zone. Despite everything, Iñaki Williams was able to link an action that ended in a pass to Villalibre. Maximiano covered the gap well in his shot, and Valverde’s men had the best chance to score in a header from Paredes, after a corner kick, which the Almería goalkeeper flew to take out next to the post.
Then Lozano responded with another shot, which came out very centered, easy for Unai Simón. The first half ended with that scare for Athletic, and the second began with a bigger one for Almería, who were left with ten, after the second yellow card to Ramazani for a grab on De Marcos, which he could well have ignored. It was almost a self-expulsion.
Garitano then ordered the lines to be delayed and Almería did it very well, conceding very little to Athletic, who were playing at a slower pace than usual, as if the changes in the lineup had not suited them too well. In any case, the Bilbao team boxed their rival in the area and bombed from the wings.
Their best chance came in a header from Raúl García that hit the post. Almost in the next play, Almería was able to win the game on the counterattack, but it couldn’t be this time either.