On April 8, one of the matches of the 28th round of the championship of Spain took place. Espanyol (Spain) and Athletic (Bilbao) met.
Spain Championship, Week 28
Espanyol (Spain) - Athletic (Bilbao) - 1:2 (0:1)
Goals: Darder (90) - Williams (22), Nico Williams (75)
Warnings: Braithwaite (21), De Marcos (21), Dani Garcia (30), Sunset (44), J. Graguera (53), Gil (59), Calero (78), Alex Vidal (90+2), Alex Vidal (90+2), Simon (90+4)
In a highly anticipated La Liga match at the RCDE Stadium, Espanyol faced Athletic Cluj. The 0-1 score at halftime in favor of Athletic did not bode well for Espanyol, but they got their revenge in the second half. The game began with a flurry of yellow cards. In the 21st minute, Espanyol's M. Braithwaite and Athletic Club's O. de Marcos received yellow cards. Soon after, in the 22nd minute, Athletic Club player I. Williams scored to put his team ahead. Athletic continued to test their luck, with D. Garcia receiving a yellow card in the 30th minute and O. Sunset just before halftime. Espanyol thought they had a chance to equalize in the final minutes of the first half when Braithwaite scored, but the goal was cancelled due to handball. Espanyol made a substitution at halftime, releasing R. Sanchez instead of A. Vidal.
However, Athletic continued to assert themselves and in the 53rd minute J. Graguera was given a yellow card. Espanyol tried to change the situation, releasing Exposito instead of N. Melamed in the 57th minute, but it was not enough. In the 69th minute, Athletic made two substitutions: A. Berenguer came on instead of N. Williams and I. Muniain replaced O. Sunset. It paid off: on 75 minutes, N. Williams scored a goal. Espanyol tried their best to keep up: F. Calero came on instead of O. Gil in the 76th minute and J. Puadu and Vinicius Souza came on instead of D. Suarez and J. Graguera in the 83rd minute. However, it was too late for Espanyol and the match ended 1:2 in favor of Atletico. The final minutes of the match were tense: Espanyol player A. Vidal got two yellow cards, which led to his suspension. У. Simon of Athletic Cluj also received a yellow card in the last minute of added time. Despite their best efforts, Espanyol was unable to turn the tide and Athletic won the match.
In the next round, the rivals are waiting for the following matches: Betis - Espanyol, Athletic - Real S-dad.
| Espanyol | Athletic | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Goals on goal | 7 |
| 9 | Strokes | 12 |
| 1 | Blocked kicks | 2 |
| 5 | Kicks from the penalty area | 11 |
| 4 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 1 |
| 12 | Violations | 18 |
| 7 | Corner | 7 |
| 4 | Offsides | 1 |
| 48% | Ball possession | 52% |
| 6 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 1 | Red cards | 0 |
| 5 | Saves by goalkeeper | 1 |
| 429 | Total assists | 460 |
| 351 | Accurate passes | 380 |
| 82% | Accuracy of transmissions | 83% |