On 20 January, one of the matches of the 21st round of the Spanish football championship took place. Valencia (Spain) and Athletic (Bilbao) met.
Spanish Championship, 21st round
Valencia (Spain) - Athletic (Bilbao ) - 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Hugo Duro (61)
Warnings: Nico Williams (56), Daniel Vivian (90), A. Ares (90+2)
Valencia won a tense La Liga match against Athletic, with only one goal separating the teams. The game took place at the legendary Estadio de Mestalla and provided the fans with ninety minutes of exciting football action. The first half ended goalless as both teams struggled to find the breakthrough. On 14 minutes Valencia made an early substitution: S. Canos replaced R. Yaremchuk. It seemed that this substitution gave Valencia's attack fresh energy, but they failed to realise their chances. At the start of the second half, Athletic received a yellow card on 56 minutes: N. Williams was warned by the referee. However, five minutes later Valencia finally scored a goal. The hero of the hour was J. Duro, who scored a fantastic goal and put Valencia in the lead. Athletic responded with a triple substitution in the 69th minute. B. Prados Diaz, G. Guruseta and A. Herrera came on in place of U. Gomez, A. Villalibre and I. Ruiz de Galarreta respectively. Soon after, Valencia also made a substitution: in the 70th minute, F. Perez replaced T. Correia. The game remained very tense, with both teams striving for a result.
In the 79th minute Athletic made a double substitution, replacing A. Ares and R. Garcia with N. Williams and O. Sunset. As time ran out, Valencia decided to make some changes to their line-up. In the 83rd minute, R. Yaremchuk replaced J. Guerra and D. Lopez replaced J. Vazquez. These substitutions should have secured Valencia's victory and brought the game to an end. In the last minutes of the match Athletic received two yellow cards. D. Vivian and A. Ares were sent off by the referee in the 90th minute for their offences. Nevertheless, the final whistle soon sounded, confirming a 1-0 victory for Valencia. This result will undoubtedly give Valencia confidence for the future La Liga season. The team showed determination and resilience throughout the match, especially in defence to ensure a clean game. On the other hand, Athletic will be looking to bounce back in the upcoming matches and regain their winning form. Overall, it was a tense encounter between two competitive teams. Both Valencia and Athletic played with passion, but it was Valencia's ability to convert their chances that ultimately decided the outcome of the match. Football fans had the opportunity to see a thrilling match at the Estadio de Mestalla, further cementing its reputation as one of La Liga's iconic stadiums.
The following matches await the opponents in the next round: Atletico vs Valencia, Cadiz vs Athletic.
| Valencia | Athletic | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kicks to the goal | 3 |
| 6 | Kicks | 6 |
| 1 | Blocked shots | 1 |
| 5 | Penalty kicks | 5 |
| 1 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 1 |
| 10 | Offences | 14 |
| 4 | Corners | 2 |
| 4 | Offsides | 0 |
| 39% | Ball possession | 61% |
| 0 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 0 |
| 365 | Total assists | 579 |
| 269 | Accurate assists | 470 |
| 74% | Accuracy of passes | 81% |