Athletic Struggles, Comes Back in a Minute, and Excels in the Europa League

Athletic had to work hard until they found two magical minutes to come back against the modest but tough Ludogorets, propelling themselves in the Europa League with ten points after four matches. A small step closer to fulfilling the dream of being in the long-awaited final at San Mamés, but a very hard-fought victory that should serve as a warning to the Basques. Brazilian Marcus surprised by putting the Bulgarians ahead in the first half, but the lions reacted in time after Valverde's successful changes. In the blink of an eye, Iñaki Williams executed a magnificent oriented control before shooting the goalkeeper, and Nico Serrano displayed the class of a left-footed game-changer.

A typical trap game for Athletic. A lesser opponent, who had barely earned a point without scoring in three games, a distant, cold, and unfamiliar destination like Razgrad, with only 32,000 inhabitants, 30% of whom are Turkish, and a quaint but small field. The typical scenario to arrive overconfident and play at a slower pace than the motivated opponent, a melting pot of eight nationalities in the starting eleven.

Valverde, perfectly aware of what it means to compete in Europe, held nothing back. The same team that should have won but drew against Betis, except for Gorosabel and Berenguer instead of Óscar de Marcos and Sancet, who was slightly injured. The Basques warned Padt, the Dutch goalkeeper, a couple of times at the beginning, who is quite agile for how heavy he seems.

Iñaki Williams missed two shots at the far post, and yet the Bulgarians took advantage of their first chance. A ball rebounded after a corner kick and a tremendous shot by Brazilian Marcus. The goal was initially disallowed for an offside position, but VAR corrected the Greek referee because Iñaki's heel broke the offside line.

The goal hurt Athletic, unable to overcome in the first half a very organized team, with tight lines, that did not allow the lions to run with space. It could have been even worse, as Ludogorets enjoyed a textbook counterattack after a serious loss by Gorosabel, but Marcus shot too wide.

The second half did not start too well either. Fortunately, Agirrezabala was alert to thwart a play where Vivian fell asleep and was caught off guard. Valverde did not wait long to make a triple substitution, one per line. Yuri tested the goalkeeper, but it was the Swiss Duah who came close to the second in a counterattack. Luckily, he did not see a better-positioned teammate. Valverde was furious.

The Extremaduran coach sought more muscle and bite with Unai Gómez, and the changes worked for him. The equalizer came after a superb oriented control by Iñaki Williams, and soon the second, scored by Nico Serrano, fantastic with his opposite foot. The scuffle near the end after a nasty tackle by Serrano and a headbutt attempt by Rwan was unnecessary. Athletic excels in the second continental competition.