Athletic 3-Mallorca 1 A full-blown punishment

Two strides away from returning to Segunda, Mallorca complies with the saying that “A skinny dog, everything is fleas.” It is an honest team, which gives what it has and does not mistreat the ball, even in 20 minutes of the second half it threw of pride and was able to extract oil, but its gross errors behind and the desperate lack of depth lead to an ephemeral adventure among the big. For the umpteenth time an enemy was found, this time the Athletic, who with few arrivals put the morning on the left. The target was on Junior Lake, a player who craves the ball so much that he only has eyes for it, no peripheral vision, and for that reason he was the great culprit of the defeat and of a blow with Yeray that left him stunned in the band.

Vicente Moreno he repeated the approach of Valdebebas, a drawing with five behind, and Pozo and Lago Junior in tasks that do not usually occupy them in normal conditions running down the sides from the defense. It is a team that does not kick the ball, far from it, but it lacks tusk. Seeing his 30 goals, less than one per game, his firm candidacy to return to Second is understood. And Athletic was like the top-ranking team, with much more punch. Two arrivals before the hydration break and two goals, one through a penalty to Raúl García, who shot with mastery to make his eleventh goal this year (matching the cap he had achieved with Osasuna. He has seven of seven on penalties, close to Zarra in 1950-51 (8 of 9). The other blow came in a corner designed on the blackboard of Garitano. In both cases, Junior Lake was confused, having previously announced his cloudy morning with two sweats before Williams. He crossed paths with Raúl García on a deep ball and brushed it, so the Navarrese went to the ground. And on a corner kick, Unai López leaned on Williams, who returned a potato, but managed to put a candy on Sancet, who came to attack the ball without the precise vigilance of Lago and holed it. Your first as much as lion, a carbon copy of the scene that Villalibre starred in at the RCDE Stadium. Athletic squeezes the stopped ball like no one else. It is the team with the most goals in strategy plays in this League: signature 11, four from a corner, 5 from a free kick and 2 from a throw-in

The emotional blow to the Balearic Islands, being 2-0 with minimal expense from the rival, was evident. Only Garitano's troops had limited themselves to taking advantage of errors, penalizing them with goals. Dani he threw caste with a shot that grazed Yeray and finally forced him to stretch Unai Simon.

Unai López, Sancet and Muniain, although this in the band loses all its magic, and Athletic's circulation speed increased with two more gears. Save SevilleIn a mischievous action, he took a foul without asking for distance from the barrier and almost caught the rojiblancos in their panties. Moreno changed the speech, although this time he did not want to activate the 'Luka bomb'. First put Budimir and then to Abdon Prats to play with two pure ends and act more direct. Sancet started looking for Dani Rodríguez's back and Save Seville, which are not distinguished by containment.

The truth is that the 22 protagonists of the deserted Cathedral lowered pulsations. And Athletic began to get out of adjustment back. Dani García, a containment midfielder, looked and wanted to attend to all errands in the first third of the local field. With the ball it was very thick. On the day of the silly penalties, Yuri committed one by light contact to Budimir, who sent her to the net almost with the same invoice as Raúl García minutes ago. Garitano lined up more firefighters to quell the fire. The changes this time were decisive to recover the posture. I enter Vesga by Unai López, promoting surveillance of airspace. And he changed the attack, with Villalibre and Kodro, two very appreciable merits this time. The first is dynamite. As soon as he entered the field he had one and the second time, he put it inside, again with the rivals in a contemplative plan. This time he did it with two touches after redoing a bad first control, the never seen before. In Bilbao you believe in Europe. And also many rivals are not buoyant. The boy finished the job and maybe Mallorca this year.

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Garitano: “It is the moment of truth”

Coach Gaizka Garitano stressed this Saturday that, after the victory against Mallorca in San Mamés (3-1), in the next three games, against Valencia, Real Madrid and Seville, Athletic Club arrives “the moment of truth” in his fight to try to get a European place for next year.

“These are bigger words, but if we want to apply for those positions we have to hit the table and be able to win. They are key games and that is when we have to give our maximum level, “said the Biscayan coach after the clash against the Vermillion team.

Regarding that meeting, Garitano admitted that, despite having been 2-0 in favor before half an hour, his team was “thicker” than in other matches and he recognized that those goals from Raúl García, from the penalty spot, and Oihan Sancet have not come as a consequence of “a constant sequence of attack.”

“All the games are complicated and it costs to close them. There has been a time when things have been difficult for us. What if I have seen victory jeopardized? Of course. The games in the First Division have to be worked on a lot because all the teams have quality and it is difficult to get the three points “, he stressed.

On the other hand, Garitano He confessed to being “very happy” with the goals scored by two “young players of the present and future” like Villalibre and Sancet. And he revealed that Iker Muniain, substituted at game time, played after having suffered a physical setback in training on Friday.

Finally, questioned about Beñat Etxebarria and Mikel San José, who end their contract next Tuesday, June 30, noted that the response to its possible continuity until the end of the current season “It's a club theme.”

“They are two players who train magnificently and who are in game dynamics, although more others are playing now. When the day comes, the club will tell you if they continue or not. I am the coach, I have to train them and I am delighted because they are two phenomena at a soccer and human level, “he stressed.

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Vicente Moreno: “I am annoyed because I am responsible for the crew”

The Mallorca coach, Vicente Moreno, confessed feeling “responsible” for the defeat embedded by its equipment in San Mamés against Athletic (3-1), but also “strong” to fight for a permanence that the vermilion team has to six points and in which it believes “forcefully”.

“I am strong and I am still excited, although now I am annoyed because I am responsible for the crew. I would like to release the kids from the responsibility of defeat because I have not been able to give them what they need to win more games, “explained the Majorcan coach after the match.

Moreno pointed out about the match that there was “a notable difference” between the first half, for which he was again responsible “for having so easily conceded that Athletic went 2-0”, and the second. “It has gotten very uphill and the kids have fallen a bit, but in the second part they have left everything. The feeling I had is of being able to tie, but the impotence has made us go back to commit another mistake in a very innocent move that has taken away all the options, “he said.

The Valencian coach stressed that he believes “firmly” in permanence and that he is “very clear about what it will take to achieve it.” “There are winnable games that we cannot miss like the three at home and we will have to take one out. I am convinced and I hope that the players too,” he stressed.

“The secret is the balance between defense and attack. On both sides we have not been as fine as competition requires. Today's three goals are quite avoidable and it should be relatively easy to turn off the tap there. And in the last few meters have more freshness and a bit of luck, “he stressed.