Goodbye, 2021

No, it is not just any game. The Real He needs, on the one hand, to win to get out of the league slump he got into after defeating Osasuna on November 7 and, on the other, to score goals, a football sauce that he has not included in his league matches for more than a year. month, precisely since that duel in El Sadar. But above all this the txuri urdin close today before the Villarreal at Anoeta (4.15pm, Movistar) an unforgettable year that Txuri Urdin fans will always remember with great affection and will pass on to their descendants like Cebolleta grandparents. This dying 2021 already occupies one of the brightest pages in the history of the club with the achievement of the Copa del Rey in the final in Seville against the arch enemy, Athletic, and those of Imanol want to close it in a big way, with a victory against a direct rival, although far away in the classification for the moment. It is a very transcendent game, with emotional overtones, in a full Anoeta, at 100% of its capacity despite the fact that the virus is rampant in the province and it is impossible to predict what will happen in the future.

After being thrashed against him Betis (4-0), the previous defeats against Spanish (1-0) and Real Madrid (0-2) and the draw at home against him Valencia (0-0) that opened the series, winning is an almost imperative need for these payments, that is why the duel takes on a special relevance. Four games without scoring and more than six hours, specifically 368 minutes, without scoring a single goal are the burdens that have been sinking Real and have taken it away from that first position it occupied for weeks. They have even removed it from the Champions positions. It is not the best context to try to defeat his ‘black beast’, a Villarreal on the rise, who grew up after defeating Atalanta and being planted in the second round of the Champions League, but absolutely off the hook in 13th place in the table with 10 points and one game less than the real one. If the points stay in Gipuzkoa, the distance (13) would border on the insurmountable. If the yellows win, they would be placed at seven points, with the possibility of reducing them to four if they win the pending match against Alavés. Always Villarreal. Forever Emery. Cup champion against Europa League champion. Great game.

Despite the potential of a very powerful rival, ImanolAs always, he is confident that he will close his big year with a win. It also has springs on which to base its optimism. Finally get back to Merino Y Silva, its creators, the glue of the team, after six games of absence of both and has all its stars. Alone Monreal Y Carlos Fernandez They are low, so the gala ‘eleven’ is expected, unless you want to preserve Silva.

Ni viaja Danjuma, gran baja

At Villarreal, they are out due to injury Arnaut Danjuma, Fortress, Use, Peña Y Coquelin, who did not travel to Donostia yesterday. The absence of the tulip forward changes a lot to the Mediterranean team, which with him is much more corrosive and vertical, but without him gains in defensive consistency. However, the most pleasant news for Emery is that you can have Gerard Moreno, the channel of the offensive game and its most differential piece.

Today is ending a beautiful year for the Real, which wants to close it with a brilliant curtain.