by Athletic Club, with two goals from Yuri Berchiche in the first half and another two from Gorka Guruzeta and Iker Muniain in the second, defeated Mallorca 4-0 in San Mamés. a forceful score that consolidates the red and white team in fifth place and leaves a vermilion team that has gone five games without winning..
Yuri’s second and third goals so far this season and ‘Gurugol”s tenth, his ninth in the League, gave Athletic his sixth consecutive victory in San Mamés in the regularity championship and the eighth if we add the Copa del Rey that he also solved in that section in ‘La Catedral’.
With these three points, Ernesto Valverde’s team consolidates its fifth place, now just two points behind the third and fourth, of Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona, waiting for this 23rd matchday to conclude. The sixth, Real Sociedad, once again provisionally distances them to nine points.
Furthermore, this result encourages the Basque team ahead of the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals that will take on Atlético on Wednesday at the Civitas Metropolitano.
To Mallorca, for its part, The defeat leaves him at the expense of the fact that the day is even closer to a relegation that follows him to four points and three positions. And it is also a hard emotional blow for them in the face of the cup semi-finals, which opens on Tuesday with the first leg against Real in Son Moix.
At the start, Valverde gave Vivian a rest, kept Yeray in the eleven and returned Paredes to the eleven, with whom they showed confidence in the three centre-backs; Aguirre, for his part, Sergi Darder was also dismissed and the attack was decided by Larín, to the detriment of Muriqi and Abdón Prats.
It was not possible to know if the Mexican’s plan was the right one because by the 3rd minute Athletic had taken the lead on the scoreboard and by the 16th they had almost turned the match in their favor with two goals from Yuri in set pieces kicked by Nico Williams.
The first, after a foul by Valjent on his brother Iñaki, was finished off by Yuri with his back to the goal and with a ‘spoon’; The second, a corner, had a valuable collaboration in Guruzeta, who acted as a spur for Yuri, almost with a foreshortening, he placed the ball in the square with his bad leg, the right one.
Two rare shots from a scoring left back, although with shots, left a match very tilted in favor of the locals in which, despite the red and white dominance, had several vermilion arrivals. An easy header for Simón de Valjient and two high shots from Mascarell and Antonio Sánchez, this one after a good play, was what Mallorca obtained, surpassed by the Bilbao strike.
And it could have been even worse for the Balearic Islands, who saw how Rajkovic, which had been impossible for Yuri’s strange finishes, He avoided 3-0 on another almost as difficult ball in the 32nd minute.
Although in that a classic play in San Mamés. A perfect cross from the right by De Marcos, an even better header from Guruzeta that deserved the 3-0 and a tremendous hand from the Serbian goalkeeper that gave even more brilliance to the play.
The red and white’s third goal did not come in that play and it seemed that it was going to do so in the next one when Figueroa Vázquez awarded a penalty for a slip by Nico in the area. The VAR came in to undo the mess and the obvious prevailed over the error.
A deflected shot by Iñaki Williams was the last notable thing in a clearly local first half on the scoreboard and in the game.
Upon returning from the locker room, Athletic threatened again after a slip by Raíllo on the front. Nico did with the ball but Valjent arrived to deflect his shot for a corner.
That play opened the spigot of the Bilbao siege, which chained four consecutive chances in two minutes. Two more shots from Williams and Sancet were cleared for a corner by the rival defense, a header against Yeray’s post after a corner kick by Galarreta and a one-on-one from Iñaki against Rajkovic in which The eldest Williams remembered his worst shooting afternoons by throwing a splendid pass from Guruzeta into the goalkeeper’s body.
Athletic missed several opportunities in a row and was about to pay for it because, as soon as they took the field, Nacho Vidal finished off a corner taken by Dani Rodríguez alone, although into the hands of a firm Simón.
Mallorca did not take advantage of its great opportunity and Athletic did not forgive any more. Because in an immediate counterattack well managed by Nico Williams Guruzeta achieved 3-0 and the reward for his great game. Nico opened his brother, Iñaki centered, Sancet missed the shot attempt and Guru, with the rod at the far post, hit the net as a ‘9’ should do. Initially it was signaled offside, but the VAR reviewed the action and validated the goal.
Muniain put the icing on the cake with a final goal, in the 89th minute, shortly after going out into the field. The captain finished off at will a cross from De Marcos, the second captain, from the right.
