Villamarín marks the future of Athletic, by Carlos Zaballa

All the fans would have agreed to see Athletic in the current position in the months of November and December, when the victories did not come. The lions have been four points from sixth place before starting the League phase in which everything is decided and a mistake can be fatal.

There are two positive data to hold on to and one to correct. The team has recovered the effectiveness against the rival goal that was so lacking in the first part of the competition and has also managed to make San Mamés a fief difficult to desecrate. There are the three consecutive wins at home for the first time with Marcelino in front. The negative data is that they are also conceding more goals. The one from Careñes only put a but to the victory on Monday, the goal received in the 91st minute. Closing the goal with a bang has been one of his goals since he arrived.

In any case, it will not be easy to achieve a European place. It seems that Madrid, Seville, Barça and Atlético are going to share the Champions League positions and then there are four teams for the next two: Betis, Real Sociedad, Villarreal and Athletic itself. The advantage of the Basque teams is that they only play the League, while the Verdiblancos are still alive in Europe although continuity has been complicated by the defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt and they are in the Cup final and the Emery They are also still in the Champions League. A win at Villamarín, with the local team thinking more about the second leg against the Germans that they will play four days later, is key.