The Champions League is already much closer for Atlético than for Athletic, which in the fourth match of the season against Simeone’s team suffered its first defeat, on this occasion, in a ‘final’ for the highest European competition, an obligation for the mattress makers. In a match marked by racist insults against Nico Williams, who responded with a goal ten minutes after the match had to be stopped due to monkey noises directed at the Athletic winger, Atlético knew how to take better advantage of their chances. It was at the beginning of each period, and also at the end, when, just like in the first goal, Atlético’s luck smiled again with Lino’s goal that hit Unai Simón’s post and back.
Atlético took the lead twice, after a quarter of an hour, with a fortunate goal from De Paul on the rebound, and in the second half, thanks to a brilliant pass from Koke to Correa so that the Argentine once again opened the way for a victory carved with the offensive and defensive forcefulness that Simeone’s team was so missing. Atlético finally beat Athletic this season and even equaled it in terms of goal average, to caress for fourth place in the League, which it has practically assured against the Cup champion.
Atlético thus made Nico Williams’ goal useless, once again the victim of racist shouts from the stands, this time from the South End of the Metropolitano, when he was about to take a corner. The youngest of the Williams was once again the target of the madmen because of the color of his skin, which he insistently showed to that sector of the stands while he walked around the grass celebrating the tie. «There are stupid people everywhere, but I hope this changes little by little. “It is not normal that they still insult you because of your skin tone,” Nico acknowledged after another match unfortunately shaken by racism.
Atlético de Madrid
Oblak, Molina (Riquelme, min. 66), Witsel, Giménez, Hermoso, Lino, Correa (Barrios, min. 77), De Paul (Azpilicueta, min. 82), Koke, Llorente (Saúl, min. 82) and Griezmann .
3
–
1
Athletic
Unai Simón, Vivian, Yeray (Ander Herrera, min. 66), Paredes, Lekue, Galarreta (Vesga, min. 69), Beñat Prados, Iñaki Williams (Raúl García, min. 81), Sancet (Berenguer, min. 66) , Nico Williams and Cruzeta (Muniain, min. 66).
Goals: 1-0: min. 15, De Paul. 1-1: min. 45, Nico Williams. 2-1: min. 52, Strap. 3-1: min. 80, Linen.
Referee: Martínez Munuera (Valencian Committee). Yellow cards to De Paul, Sancet, Paredes, Hermoso and Griezmann.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the 33rd day of the League, played at the Metropolitano. 64,612 spectators.
His goal, celebrated “with rage”, as Nico himself revealed, came after a gift from Griezmann in a back pass that his brother Iñaki took advantage of at first, so that, with the participation and assistance of Guruzeta, the youngest of the Williams hit the red and white fans once again. However, in front of their fans, who give wings to such an irregular team this season, Atlético was once again solid and authoritative and once and for all showed their strength in a high-profile duel.
This time, after the Williams drove Atlético’s defense crazy in San Mamés, both in the League and the Cup, Simeone learned his lesson and his team was finally effective in attack, taking advantage of the few opportunities they had. At times, although only in the first half, Athletic was better than Atlético, until they won a prize on the edge of half-time, but the fourth place in the championship was, in a duel of maximum demand and tension, as required of them, reliable in defense and a matador in attack, when in the three previous games against the lions he was not able to score a goal and conceded six.
Disabled
Despite the tying play as a result of Griezmann’s error in a back pass, Atlético deactivated the Williams with four players in the midfield ahead of the defense of five, with the surprise of Llorente on the left and Correa on the right to support Lino and Molina in defense. There, Athletic found itself tied up in the face of Atlético’s withdrawal and pressure, which barely allowed Valverde’s team to generate clear chances, despite the push from the Bilbao team in the last part of the first half.
In those moments Athletic took a step forward and Atlético got scared and suffered again, until Nico decided to speak on the field, to once again force the locals to react after the break. Atlético, who also recovered their intensity and had a lot of danger with Llorente up the left, quickly found themselves with another goal in their favor at the beginning of the second half and, then, faced with the rival’s sterile initiative, they once again became strong behind , to prevent, thanks to a distant shot from Lino not without luck, that there was agony after the shame of the insults to Nico.
2024-04-27 21:32:35
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