Defeat to Athletic Club in Super Cup semifinal
Our team lost 2-1 against Athletic Club on Thursday in Riyadh in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal.
Atleti lost 2-1 against Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal on Thursday. Our team took the lead in the second half, but the Basque side turned things around.
We were excellent in the opening stages of the match. João Félix scored eight seconds into the game, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Correa also had a big chance shortly thereafter, but his short was deflected just wide. Lemar was tripped inside the box in seven minutes in, but after a VAR check, the referees decided not to award a penalty. Carrasco also had a long-range attempt that was saved by the keeper. The Basque club reacted and created a chance for Iñaki Williams – but the striker was unable to beat Oblak. We eventually reached half-time with the score at 0-0.
Lodi replaced Llorente during the break – the Brazilian made his 100th appearance for our club – and De Paul came on for Kondogbia not long after. We kept pushing and eventually took the lead just after the hour mark. João Félix's header hit the post and ball ended up in the back of the net after bouncing off the keeper. Athletic Club almost equalised right away, but Oblak pulled off a superb save. Correa made way for Suárez with 20’ to go in what was Simeone’s third chance. Unfortunately, Marcelino’s side equalised through a Yeray header in the 77th minute. And not long after, they took the lead through Nico Williams. We had less than 10’ to turn things around, and Simeone reacted by bringing on Herrera and Cunha for Koke and Lemar. We fought until the end but were unable to find the equaliser. Giménez was sent off in stoppage time and Athletic Club ultimately won 2-1.
