The Yellow Submarine triumphed 2-1 away at Athletic Bilbao in a tightly contested match held at the Cathedral for matchday 31 of La Liga. Sergi Cardona marked the scoreline with an impressive goal at the 25-minute mark of the first half, shifting the momentum in favor of the visitors. Shortly after the halftime break, Alfon González extended Villarreal’s lead with another finely executed goal in the 49th minute. The home team managed to pull one back with a goal from Gorka Guruzeta in the 83rd minute, but it proved insufficient for victory.
Sergi Cardona was undoubtedly the star of the match. The Villarreal defender not only scored the opening goal but also made significant contributions defensively, clearing seven dangerous balls. Pape Gueye was also pivotal for Villarreal, accurately completing 30 passes throughout the match.
Athletic Bilbao’s coach, Ernesto Valverde, utilized a 4-5-1 formation with Unai Simón in goal; Iñigo Lekue, Dani Vivian, Aymeric Laporte, and Yuri Berchiche in defense; Mikel Jauregizar, Iñigo Ruiz, Iñaki Williams, Oihan Sancet, and Nico Williams in midfield; and Gorka Guruzeta leading the attack.
Conversely, Marcelino García Toral set up his team in a 4-4-2 formation, featuring Luiz Júnior as the goalkeeper; Álvaro Mouriño, Pau Navarro, Renato Veiga, and Sergi Cardona in defense; Tajon Buchanan, Pape Gueye, Santi Comesaña, and Alfon González in the midfield; with Tani Oluwaseyi and Gerard Moreno as the forward pair.
The referee for the game was José Guzmán Mansilla.
In their next match, the Lions will host Osasuna, while the Yellow Submarine will travel to face Real Oviedo at the Carlos Tartiere Stadium.
Currently, Athletic Bilbao sits in 12th place with 38 points, whereas Villarreal has reached 61 points, placing them third in the league standings.
Substitutions for Athletic Bilbao
45’ 2T – Iñigo Lekue out for Andoni Gorosabel and Pau Navarro out for Rafa Marín
65’ 2T – Iñigo Ruiz out for Alejandro Rego, Nico Williams out for Robert Navarro, and Oihan Sancet out for Álex Berenguer
81’ 2T – Iñaki Williams out for Nicolás Serrano and Pape Gueye out for Dani Parejo
Yellow Cards for Athletic Bilbao
45’ 2T – Andoni Gorosabel (Unsporting behavior) and 46’ 2T – Gorka Guruzeta (Unsporting behavior)
Substitutions for Villarreal
68’ 2T – Alfon González out for Nicolas Pépé and Tani Oluwaseyi out for Georges Mikautadze
77’ 2T – Tajon Buchanan out for Alberto Moleiro
Yellow Cards for Villarreal
18’ 1T – Pau Navarro (Holding an opponent to prevent them from advancing), 29’ 2T – Santi Comesaña (Unsporting behavior), and 31’ 2T – Tajon Buchanan (Unsporting behavior)