Athletic Club Is Facing a Complicated Situation
The Bilbao players are facing injuries and fatigue at a pivotal point in the season
Athletic Club is in a difficult situation.
Athletic Club, once again plagued by absences, and Sporting de Portugal close out the Champions League League Phase at San Mamés, with the Bilbao side looking to secure a play-off spot ahead of the round of 16 and the Lisbon outfit aiming for a place among those eight privileged teams that, precisely, skip that first knockout round of the tournament.
In Bilbao, this clash has brought back memories of the 2012 Europa League semifinal, in which the rojiblanco side overturned the 2-1 first-leg deficit at the José Alvalade, also at ‘La Catedral’, to reach the final of the tournament with a last-gasp goal—Fernando Llorente’s 3-2 winner in regulation time.
Good news?
Athletic have made it to this final matchday almost by a miracle, because it was incredible how they came back last week in Bergamo against Atalanta (2-3) after being under pressure from the Italian side for an hour.
But Robert Navarro, one of the few bright spots for the rojiblanco side this season, pulled out his magic wand and, with two assists and a goal, each more impressive than the last, changed the course of the match and gave Athletic an extra lease on life.
What's happening tomorrow?
By tomorrow there will be eight or nine, depending on whether Dani Vivian joins the list of absences suffered by Ernesto Valverde’s side, who today confirmed that Nico Williams and Aymeric Laporte will definitely be out.
Of all the absences, six or seven are due to injury and two are due to suspension. Among these two, a very significant one is Mikel Jauregizar, who has played in virtually every game this season and served his suspension for accumulated yellow cards in Italy.
Captain Iñaki Williams will also be absent tomorrow; in recent hours he has been trying to lift his teammates’ spirits, but he is sidelined with an injury. Long-term absentees Maroan Sannadi, Beñat Prados, and Unai Egiluz are also out, as is UEFA-suspended Yeray Álvarez.
