Athletic Club - Deportivo Alavés

Athletic Club are clinging on to fourth place, holding on to the lead after Villarreal's late surge. Their victory in the derby against Deportivo Alavés with an own goal by Manu Sánchez in the 71st minute gives them a breath of fresh air in the decisive week, with visits to Getafe and Valencia. The team that proposed the most won. Coudet's men were looking for a point but were unable to get forward because of the great defensive work of the Red and Whites.

Alavés only gave them a scare, in one of the first actions of the match. It was a scramble that Antonio Blanco failed to put into the net due to the presence of Simón. So far, beyond the intrigue of the balanced first and then the short scoreline, the Gasteiztarra team looked to be in the ascendancy.

The lions, with a line-up full of youngsters due to injuries up front, dominated throughout the match. Alavés, a difficult visitor in numbers, struggled to stop Maroan, who was the victim of too many hold-ups. De Marcos set up the striker in a move in which the striker went past Garcés and with everything in his favour in front of Sivera, fell to the ground. It looked like a penalty, but it was not. He stepped on Garcés and didn't step on the ball.

Apart from a combination between Yuri and Djaló, a shot from Jauregizar and two deliberate crosses from Olabarrieta, Sivera was relatively calm. And so it continued despite the numerous corners, finished off by the impeccable Yeray and Vivian, until Sancet came on. Between Galarreta and him, he weaved the goal-scoring action, with Guruzeta, in a very good minute, finishing off and Manu Sánchez putting the ball into his own goal. The summary of the match, Athletic pushing and Alavés protecting themselves.

Athletic had the sentence in a one-on-one from Maroan, set up by Guruzeta, in which Sivera robbed him of the 2-0 with a great right arm. There was no need to suffer because Athletic defended the win like a treasure. A great afternoon, with the Champions League a little closer, although there is still a lot of work to do in the next three games, and a well-deserved tribute to Bilbao Basket, European champions.