Mission impossible against organised Getafe

Athletic Club drew 0-0 with Getafe CF in Bilbao on Saturday afternoon. It was a match of few chances in which Athletic struggled to break down the opposition's well-drilled defence.

The big news of the day came after full-time, when Oihan Sancet, one of Athletic's rising young stars, announced his contract extension until 2032.

The Lions, who are still seventh, edge closer to Villarreal in sixth but not as much as hoped for. Despite a dominant start, in which they had a handful of corners, the home side's chances were few and far between. The first, Athletic's best of the day, was a Yuri Berchiche header from a corner which David Soria kept out with a close-range stop.

At the other end, Julen Agirrezabala had a quiet afteroon but pulled off an incredible save to deny Alderete and make sure the scores were even at the break.

It was much the same in the second half, with Athletic dominating, looking to open gaps and Getafe, with their three central defenders well positioned, clearing everything. Ernesto Valverde refreshed the team with changes, but the closest they came to scoring a goal was a specualative Yeray bicycle kick.

San Mamés understood the difficult task against Getafe and cheered on their Lions until the end. Now we turn our focus to Tuesday's Copa semi-final. The Cathedral will have to get behind the team again on Tuesday to see Athletic come through their Copa semi-final against CA Osasuna and reach another final.