Athletic rescued a point in San Mamés in the last breath, in a shot by Villalibre after the error of Herrera, who collided with Catena when trying to grab the ball. It was the reward for insistence for a red and white team that tried in every possible way to balance the match against an Osasuna that, with 0-2 in favor, dedicated itself to maintaining the result.
2
Unai Simón, Lekue, Daniel Vivian, Yuri, De Marcos, Muniain (Raúl García, min. 63), Berenguer (Villalibre, min. 45), Vesga (Benat Prados, min. 63), Nico Williams (Malcom Adu, min. 76), Ander Herrera (Unai Gómez, min. 63) and Williams
2
Herrera, Jorge Herrando, Jesús Areso (Jorge Moreno, min. 75), Mojica, Catena, Lucas Torró, Rubén Peña (Aimar Oroz, min. 68), Pablo Ibáñez, Rubén García, Iker Muñoz and Raul García de Haro (Arnáiz, min. 76)
Goals 0-1 min. 40: Raul García de Haro. 0-2 min. 47: Rubén García. 1-2 min. 57: Williams. 2-2 min. 95: Villalibre.
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez
Yellow cards Yuri (min. 21), Jorge Herrando (min. 34), Ander Herrera (min. 46), Pablo Ibáñez (min. 55), Catena (min. 73) and Rubén García (min. 91)
The crux of the first half came around the 40th minute, when after Iker Muniain scored a goal that the VAR annulled because Berenguer had his backside in an offside position, Osasuna responded in a quick action that ended with a shot into Mojica’s goal that Raúl deflected into the net to put the visitors ahead.
Athletic presented a very different team than usual. The losses have accumulated in recent weeks, and due to various circumstances: from the expulsion of the two centre-backs, Yeray and Paredes, which forced Valverde to improvise with Lekue, to Guruzeta’s acute appendicitis. Sancet is not there either, and not even Valverde himself, who like his colleague Arrasate, had to watch the game from the stands.
After the tribute to Raúl García by both teams, Athletic came out wanting to resolve immediately. On the first approach to goal, Herrando blocked the shot of Nico Williams, who was aiming for Herrera’s goal.
But the defensive imbalances, with an improvised line, were already beginning to weigh down Athletic. Shortly after Bilbao’s first opportunity, an error by Berenguer, who threw the ball into his own half, caused a counterattack that Lekue saved, taking the ball away from Rubén García at the last moment. Although the game did not stop, and before the 10th minute Herrera had to use himself on a shot from Nico, which was being a nightmare for Areso, who had to start receiving defensive help to stop the little Williams.
The game calmed down a bit, and even after minute 30, Osasuna began to stretch somewhat. But the action of the goal disallowed by Muniain and the one scored by Osasuna that was worth it came and the game changed.
As soon as the second half began, Osasuna got the second, in a long ball that Rubén García received in the middle of a distraction from the red and white defense and it seemed that everything was over.
But Athletic insisted and did not give up. He continued playing as if nothing was happening, and took advantage of a mistake by Mojica, who cleared poorly, to close the gap with a cross shot from Iñaki Williams that slipped into the top corner.
He insisted and insisted from that moment, with Osasuna in the area, trying to neutralize the red and white attacks. Both teams put in fresh legs to face the obvious fatigue of a game without timeouts, and Athletic did not give up on their intentions. Fortune smiled on him in stoppage time, when there were barely 60 seconds left in the extra time indicated by the referee. After a ball that Raúl García stole, the ball reached De Marcos; Herrera and Catena collided while trying to clear, and the ball fell to Villalibre, who pushed to tie. The Buffalo still had another one, but the header came out too centered.
Osasuna left frustrated by what could have been a victory and was not, and Athletic, despite a draw that turns the Champions League into a chimera, satisfied for not having given up until the last moment.
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