The Celestes emerged victorious over the Lions in a match held at Balaídos Stadium on matchday 16 of La Liga. Forward Williot Swedberg opened the scoring for Celta just two minutes into the second half, followed by Jones El-Abdellaoui who extended the lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute, sealing the match.
Athletic Bilbao made 14 attempts on goal but lacked the finishing touch needed to score. According to the statistics, 6 of those attempts were on target, 1 hit the post, and 7 went wide.
Nico Williams, a midfielder for Athletic Bilbao, had a chance to narrow the gap but missed a penalty in the 64th minute of the second half.
The standout player of the match was Óscar Mingueza, who completed 56 successful passes and regained possession of the ball twice for Celta. Javi Rueda also performed admirably, with 27 accurate passes and 2 ball recoveries.
Celta’s coach, Claudio Giráldez, opted for a 3-4-3 formation, featuring Ionut Radu in goal; a defense comprised of Manu Fernandez, Carl Starfelt, and Marcos Alonso; a midfield including Javi Rueda, Miguel Román, Hugo Sotelo, and Óscar Mingueza; with Iago Aspas, Ferrán Jutglà, and Williot Swedberg leading the attack.
On the other side, Ernesto Valverde’s team lined up with a 4-5-1 setup, placing Unai Simón in goal; a backline of Jesús Areso, Dani Vivian, Aitor Paredes, and Yuri Berchiche; a midfield trio consisting of Iñigo Ruiz, Mikel Jauregizar, Álex Berenguer, Oihan Sancet, and Nico Williams; with Gorka Guruzeta at the front.
The referee for this matchup at Balaídos was Alejandro Hernández Hernández.
Looking ahead to the next round, Celta will face Real Oviedo away, while Athletic Bilbao will host Espanyol.
With this result, Celta accumulates 22 points and is in eighth place in the standings, while Athletic Bilbao sits in seventh with 23 points.
Substitutions for Celta
45’ 2T – Ferrán Jutglà off for Jones El-Abdellaoui, Oihan Sancet off for Selton Sánchez, and Álex Berenguer off for Iñaki Williams.
60’ 2T – Javi Rueda off for Sergio Carreira; Hugo Sotelo off for Ilaix Moriba.
75’ 2T – Williot Swedberg off for Borja Iglesias.
79’ 2T – Iago Aspas off for Hugo Álvarez; Gorka Guruzeta off for Urko Izeta.
Yellow Cards for Celta:
43’ 1T – Ferrán Jutglà (Unsporting behavior), 31’ 2T – Iago Aspas (Insulting or disapproving the referee), and 50’ 2T – Borja Iglesias (Unsporting behavior).
Substitutions for Athletic Bilbao
50’ 2T – Yuri Berchiche off for Adama Boiro.
76’ 2T – Nico Williams off for Nicolás Serrano.
Yellow Cards for Athletic Bilbao:
20’ 2T – Iñaki Williams (Unsporting behavior), 41’ 2T – Dani Vivian (Unsporting behavior).