In a tedious match, with the players still not reaching their peak, Getafe, despite their limited depth, snatched a draw at San Mamés against an Athletic that was too flat, without edge, that only had a quarter of an hour of football in the first half and a burst of pride at the end, just in the minutes in which Nico Williams appeared.
1
Álex Padilla, Yuri Berchiche, Yeray Álvarez, Andoni Gorosabel (Íñigo Lekue, min. 80), Aitor Paredes (Dani Vivian, min. 80), Alex Berenguer (Nico Williams, min. 71), Mikel Vesga (Unai Gómez, min. 56), Iñaki Williams, Oihan Sancet, Beñat Prados (Ander Herrera, min. 56) and Gorka Guruzeta
1
David Soria, Omar Alderete, Djené Dakonam, Diego Rico, Juan Iglesias, Luis Milla, Carles Pérez (Peter Federico, min. 45), Alex Sola (Yellu Santiago, min. 79), Mauro Arambarri (Carles Alena, min. 39), Nabil Aberdin and Christantus Uche
Goals
1-0 min. 26: O. Sancet. 1-1 min. 63: Christantus Uche
Referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz
Yellow cards
Christantus Uche (min. 52), Benat Prados (min. 54), Unai Gómez (min. 69), Gorosabel (min. 72), Ander Herrera (min. 85)
Far from the heat of a week ago, with a wonderful afternoon at San Mamés, Athletic went out on a picnic to start the League, and was eating their snack while Getafe worked harder, played more and worried more the goal of the new Padilla, who was spared the bad experience of playing the ball short by his defenders and always ordered him to kick long. So every ball that flew into the visitors’ half was a treat for Bordalás’ players, who were competent with their game face to face, and who also got quite close to the red and white area, while the home team could not string together a single action that could be considered, even remotely, promising for their attack.
So after many minutes in which it was Getafe who were the ones who ordered and commanded, Athletic scoring was starting to become a pipe dream, but as football is unpredictable, the first time Valverde’s men created a decent move near the rival area, they managed to surprise Soria. It was with a long ball that Guruzeta collected, who detected the presence of Sancet nearby. The Navarrese advanced a couple of metres and from the edge of the box placed his shot with a curl close to the post.
Athletic took the lead almost by surprise, and after the opening goal of the League, Valverde’s men played their best minutes. Getafe, affected by the result, were unable to react, stopped controlling the ball and passed it to the Bilbao team. The situation did not change until half-time, but after a quarter of an hour of reflection, the Madrid team regained the confidence lost after Athletic’s goal.
They came out determined from the kick-off, and in the first play, Peter Federico, one of Getafe’s few signings, hit the post with no one around him. Shortly after, Carles Aleñá tested Padilla in a one-on-one. The debutant goalkeeper, of Mexican roots, excelled by putting his foot out to thwart Getafe’s clear chance, which they did not miss ten minutes later with a header from Uche from a corner kick, placing the ball next to the post.
No prize
Ernesto Valverde had no choice but to turn to Nico Williams, the man of the pre-season, who has only been training with his teammates for a few days. After so much noise around him, and after being welcomed in a spectacular manner by San Mamés, the youngest of the saga came out in star mode. With the first ball he touched he already caused a ruckus. He collected it on the wing, ran along the edge and curled a shot that Soria made his best save. Then he took a free kick that the Getafe goalkeeper sent to the corner, and in a few minutes he drove the defenders crazy by deploying his panoply of resources.
His effort did not find the goal. Although Athletic pushed until the end, he showed why he is one of the most sought-after players in the league. After the match, Nico sang Txoria txori with his teammates, gave his shirt to a fan in the back, but left with the bitterness of the draw. In Getafe, however, they celebrated. They had deserved it.
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