Athletic Club claimed their first win of the season, albeit by a narrow margin, at the expense of a disappointing Valencia side, which has lost all three of its league appearances. A goal from Prados in the last minute of the first half tipped the balance. It was a good time to make his debut as a goalscorer in the First Division, in his second season. The visiting team simply did not show up. Not even with the score against them did they make the slightest attempt to push Athletic Club on their own turf.
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Julen Agirrezabala, Dani Vivian, Óscar De Marcos, Yeray Álvarez, Adama Boiro (Íñigo Lekue, min. 78), Oihan Sancet (Unai Gómez, min. 70), Beñat Prados (Javier Martón, min. 70), Álvaro Djaló (Nico Williams, min. 57), Mikel Jauregizar, Iñaki Williams and Gorka Guruzeta (Mikel Vesga, min. 69)
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The following players were selected for the 2011/12/13 Champions League quarter-finals: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jesus Vazquez (Thierry Correia, min. 88), Cesar Tarrega, Cristian Mosquera, Dimitri Foulquier, Luis Rioja, Hugo Guillamon, Diego Lopez (Martin Tejon, min. 81), Pepelu (Javi Guerra, min. 81), Hugo Duro (Dani Gomez, min. 88) and Rafa Mir (Andre Almeida, min. 58)
Goals
1-0 min. 44: Benat Prados
Referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes
Yellow cards
Rafa Mir (min. 22), Cristhian Ibarguen (min. 25), Benat Prados (min. 68), Foulquier (min. 92)
Ernesto Valverde changed many things in relation to Montjuic, where his team offered a disappointing image against Barça, and possibly not because of their feelings on the Barcelona mountain, but out of practicality, with another match on Saturday, against one of the great battleships of the League. The goal was occupied again by Agirrezabala, now fit; the left wing was monopolized by two debutants, Adama Boiro, born in Dakar (Senegal), but raised in Pamplona and Álvaro Djaló, the signing from Sporting de Braga, from Madrid, but in Bizkaia since he was little. The changes came due to the absence of Yuri, injured, and the precaution with Nico Williams, who on Saturday visits San Mamés with Atlético and ended up toasted in Montjuic. In midfield Jauregizar appeared alongside Prados. And the modifications improved the tone of Athletic, who looked from the beginning for Mamardashvili’s goal, who had several scares during the first half. At Valencia, Baraja, with his limited squad, could do little to change. His suggestions for improving the squad were not echoed by the owner, Peter Lim, who was again asked to leave by the many fans of his team present at San Mamés.
Athletic’s attacks began with Iñaki Williams, who sent a lob over the crossbar, and Sancet was unable to get the rebound in. Then, a shot from Guruzeta that tripped over a defender went to Iñaki’s head, and his shot was saved by the Valencia goalkeeper in a good move. Except for a few minutes of pause that Athletic took, the entire game was Bilbao’s, with Sancet in his element, receiving with his back turned and facing up. From Hugo Duro and Rafa Mir, disconnected from the rest of their team, there was no news.
The third clear chance for the red-and-whites came from a brilliant combination between Sancet and Williams, who left the ball to Guruzeta, with no one in front of him, but his shot went too centrally, into the hands of the goalkeeper.
However, everything seemed to indicate that there would be no goals before the break, when in the penultimate play of the first half, a cross from the tireless De Marcos was headed by Prados far from Mamardashvili’s radar. In a way, it was logical that the red-and-whites went ahead, because they were the only ones who proposed. Afterwards, with less strength, they continued to have the ball and tame a Valencia that stretched itself as little as possible to try to at least equalise. Sancet’s flow, who had been the thermometer of Athletic’s game, dropped and with him, they stopped creating a chain of chances against Mamardashvili, but Valencia did not even try to go for the game. As if disconnected, Baraja’s men let themselves go before the intensity of Bilbao that also imposed itself in the second half, although this time, without creating chances.
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