Deportivo Alavés - Athletic Club

Athletic Club fell to a 2-1 defeat at Mendizorrotza with a goal scored by Rodrigo Ely in the last minute. An unfair and cruel result for a team that was superior to their opponents during many stages of the match. In fact, the Lions went ahead after Raúl García scored from a rehearsed set-piece routine.

The match did not give the impression that it would end up as it did when the lions got off to a good start. In the sixth minute, Pacheco cleared a header on target from Williams, after a cross from the left following a fine pass between Muniain and Yuri.

Deportivo Alavés only created danger on the counter-attack and the lions needed to be on the alert for the times in which the team from Vitoria got up the pitch. Athletic were the first to score after a rehearsed corner routine where Vesga let the ball go past and Raúl slotted it into the net with a left-footed shot. In the last third, Muniain kept receiving the ball again and again, posing a constant danger.

But the penalty kick that punished Yeray’s foul on Alex Vidal during a counter-attack was converted by Lucas Pérez. The most controversial play of the game came afterwards, when Williams was running towards his opponents’ goal and was tackled by Ximo Navarro, who was shown a yellow card.

In the second half, Athletic were better too, although their strength up front was ebbing away little by little. Lucas Pérez slammed a cross-shot against the bar and, on 90 minutes, Rodrigo Ely sent a decisive free-kick cross to the back of the net.