The team from Pamplona won the first leg of the semifinals against Athletic. (AFP)
Osasuna took the first step towards the final of the Copa del Rey by beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 this Wednesday in the first leg of the semifinals at the El Sadar stadium.
A Moroccan goal abde cross shot (47 ‘) gave the rojillos a small advantage ahead of the return in San Mamés on April 4, although the coach Jagoba Arrasate no credit.
“The tie is open, it continues to be complicated, but we have the illusion that we have put ourselves ahead,” said Arrasate after the game.
Athletic and Osasuna They showed a lot of respect throughout a very even match, in which the rojillos put one more point of intensity.
Encouraged by his fans and wanting to reach the second Cup final in his history after the one he lost in 2005, Osasuna began by pressing high on Athletic’s start.
The local team came especially from the left where Abde appeared as the most unbalancing man on his team, although the Moroccan international would have to wait for the second half to find the goal.
Against Athletic, who aspires to achieve their third final in four years, managed to contain their rival, seeking to reach the opposite area with play.
The ‘Leones’ were about to take the lead with a shot from the front by Iker Muniain, which was kicked out by goalkeeper Sergio Herrera (13′).
The rejection was picked up by Iñaki Williams to push the ball into the Osasuna nets, but his goal did not go up on the scoreboard due to offside.
The Athletic striker was very isolated, watched over by the Osasuna defense, which prevented him from connecting with his teammates.
abde sees door
The two teams ended up canceling out in a first part without much history, but which would lead to a much more entertaining second period.
The ball barely rolled again when Abde received it deep and unleashed a cross shot to make it 1-0 (47′), which put his team a little closer to the final.
The goal spurred the visitors, who sought to put more pressure on Osasuna’s departure.
Coach Ernesto Valverde tried to give his team’s attack more bite with the entries of Raúl García for Berenguer and Nico Williams for Muniain (64′).
With the two Williams brothers on the field, Athletic looked for speed up the wings to try to get balls into the area.
Athletic arrived more, but it was difficult for them to find the holes in the Osasuna defense.
The locals did not back down despite renewed rival pressure and kept trying to go looking for Athletic up top to keep the ball away from their goal.
In the last minutes, Athletic turned on the opposite goal, giving the locals one last scare with a shot by Gorka Guruzeta that Sergio Herrera took (90+3′) to maintain the local victory.
