Athletic Bilbao attaches great importance to Espanyol.
Before the game, Athletic Bilbao head coach Valverde praised the Espanyol team for having made a qualitative change this season and becoming a strong contender for European qualification. Both Zhao Yang and Asensio have the ability to determine the direction of the game.
With both of them on the court at the same time, the Espanyol team will become very difficult to deal with.
Regarding this game, Valverde said that everyone has the possibility of winning, and the final result depends on on-the-spot performance.
When reporters asked how Athletic Bilbao would defend Zhao Yang and Asensio, Valverde said that he would definitely make defending these two people his top priority, but God couldn't guarantee whether he could defend them.
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San Mamés Stadium, home of Athletic Bilbao, is a famous hell stadium in La Liga.
Not to mention Espanyol, even Barcelona and Real Madrid cannot guarantee that they will escape unscathed here.
Before the game, Espanyol coach Serbia said: "Although Athletic Bilbao started in a mediocre state, they are very strong and have the advantage of home court. This game will definitely be a hard battle."
When talking about the match against Athletic Bilbao, Zhao Yang, the team's most popular player, said: "Athletic Bilbao is definitely the most special team in La Liga. They have no foreign players, which limits their strength.
The loss also makes them more united. It will definitely be more difficult to deal with them at their home court, but I still hope we can beat them at the San Mames Stadium."
Zhao Yang yearns for the San Mames Stadium very much.
In addition to eager to conquer this hellish home court, Zhao Yang also hopes to sign his skills in San Mamés.
Although the San Mamés Stadium was renovated five years ago, Athletic Bilbao has a long history and a proud record. Zhao Yang believes that the new San Mamés Stadium should not lack football talent.
On the morning of the game, the Spaniards held a pre-match meeting in the hotel against Bilbao. After taking a short rest, they rushed to the San Mamés Stadium to adapt to the venue.
When he walked into the stadium, Zhao Yang felt a chill because the sign-in system didn't respond at all.
It seems that after the stadium was demolished and rebuilt, the ball disappeared.
Zhao Yang was very disappointed with such an old stadium. The players must have deep skills. He could have signed someone with good skills, but now it was wasted.
In addition to the Espanyol fans, there were also many Athletic Bilbao fans at the stadium.
Obviously these Bilbao fans have bad intentions and are here to demonstrate against the Espanyol team.
When the Espanyol team was training, these Bilbao fans kept booing, constantly mentioning Zhao Yang's name and shouting yellow-skinned monkeys, trying to anger Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang was not a woodcarving clay figure, so of course he was very angry, but he understood the intentions of these Bilbao fans. He was angry because he was angry, but Zhao Yang did not get carried away and scolded these fans. He decided to settle this account with Bilbao.
On the competitive team.
The current ratings of the Espanyol team in China are extremely high, almost catching up with the games between Barcelona and Real Madrid. In order to make it easier for Chinese fans to watch, the Spanish Football Association took the initiative to adjust the time to seven o'clock in the evening.
This is China's prime time, but the effect is also very good. According to media predictions, the number of fans watching this game may exceed 100 million.
Athletic Bilbao regards the Spaniard as its main opponent for the European Cup, and has made targeted arrangements for this game.
Goalkeeper: Ilesos; back four: Demarquez, Laporte, Echeta, Valenciaga; double midfielder Gourpage, Benyat; midfield three: Williams, Law
Garcia, San Jose; lone forward veteran Aduriz.
Change the regular 442 formation into 4231, with two midfielders in front of the central defender to prevent Zhao Yang and Asensio from breaking through.
When attacking, both full-backs and three midfielders can participate. It can be said that this is another kind of balance.
The Spaniard's starting lineup only changed one midfielder, Diop, from the previous game, and nothing else changed.
The Spaniard's tactics are almost clear. The variables are Zhao Yang and Asensio. Their personal abilities can change the trend of the game.
Athletic Bilbao has been in very good shape recently, winning four of five games. Their opponent Espanyol also has a good record. It can be said that they have met their opponents, so they have also attracted a large number of fans to come and watch.
When the game started, the San Mames Stadium was almost full.
After the opening, Athletic Bilbao launched a fierce attack on Espanyol amid the cheers of nearly 50,000 home team fans.
In the second minute of the game, Bilbao midfielder Benate rushed to the frontcourt and when he caught the ball and wanted to shoot, he was pulled down by Espanyol captain Sanchez and got a direct free kick.
Veteran Adulis took the penalty. The arc of his free kick was too low and it hit the wall and bounced out.
Zhao Yang, with quick eyes and quick feet, rushed over and kicked the ball to captain Sanchez.
Sanchez stopped the ball and tried to organize an attack, but was kicked down by Raul Garcia.
Espanyol received a free kick in the backcourt.
Sanchez wanted to take a quick free kick, but was blocked by Raul Garcia. He could only pass a long ball to find Caicedo in front.
Sanchez passed the ball very accurately. Caicedo was stuck in position and wanted to pass the header to Zhao Yang. The defender marking him held down his shoulder and headed the ball away.
Pressing foul.
The referee blew his whistle and awarded a free kick in the frontcourt.
It was difficult to shoot this free kick directly. Asensio took the penalty and passed a banana ball into the penalty area, looking for Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang did not touch the ball when his opponent was marking him, and the ball was picked up by goalkeeper Elisos.
Ilesos kicked the ball with a big kick, and the ball was pushed back by the defender and fell in front of Asensio. Asensio caught the ball and got rid of the defender. When he was about to turn around, he was knocked down by the forward Aduriz who returned to defend.
Espanyol gets another free kick.
The pass just passed was not caught by a teammate. Looking at the distance, Asensio directly curled the ball and shot.
The distance was too far and the ball slowed down as it reached the penalty area and was confiscated by goalkeeper Elisos.
Elisos threw the ball to defender DeMarcos, and Demarcos made a long pass to find Williams in front.
Williams turned his back to the goal, raised his foot high, turned and drove into the penalty area.
Spanish defender Andia did not expect Williams to pass the ball directly. When he turned around, Williams had already moved two positions away from him.
In the trap of the Spanish defender, Williams didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground, and shot a volley, and the ball flew over the head of goalkeeper Lopez and into the net.
Goalkeeper Lopez didn't react at all. After the ball went in, he subconsciously made a save.
But it's too late.
At 7 minutes and 17 seconds of the game, Athletic Bilbao forward Williams scored a very beautiful goal to help Athletic Bilbao lead Espanyol.