BILBAO. Espanyol beats Athletic Club 1-0 after M. Braithwaite scored just 1 goal (83′). Athletic Club was surely superior in terms of ball possession (67%).​

The match was played at the San Mamés Barria stadium in Bilbao on Sunday and it started at 4:15 pm local time. The referee was Juan Martínez Munuera with the collaboration of Diego Barbero Sevilla and Miguel Martínez Munuera. The 4th official was Manuel Pozueta Rodríguez. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was extremely hot at 31.8 degrees Celsius or 89.28 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 29%.​

Match Statistics​

Athletic Club

0 - 1

Espanyol

  • ! 67 Ball Possession 33
Shots
  • 17 Total 10
  • 3 On Target 3
  • 14 Off Target 7
  • 3 Shots blocked 2
  • 129 Attack 90
  • 85 Dangerous attack 32
  • 86 Ball safe 93
  • 0 Penalties 0
  • 4 Corners 2
  • 3 Off Sides 2
Fouls
  • 12 Total 12
  • 3 Yellow Cards 2
  • 0 Double Yellow 0
  • 0 Red Card 0
Other
  • 4 Substitutions 6

Ball possession

Athletic Club had a superior ball possession 67% while Espanyol was struggling with a 33% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Athletic Club was more aggressive with 85 dangerous attacks and 17 shots of which 3 were on target. Even so, Espanyol was able to find the solution to win this match.​

Athletic Club shot 17 times, 3 on target, 14 off target. Talking about the opposition, Espanyol shot 10 times, 3 on target, 7 off target.

Cards

Athletic Club received 3 yellow cards (O. Sancet, O. de Marcos and U. Vencedor). On the other side, Espanyol received 2 yellow cards (L. Cabrera and D. Gomez).

Match Timeline

45'
Leandro Cabrera- Yellow
46'
Keidi Bare- sub ->Exposito
Oihan Sancet- Yellow
54'
Gorka Guruzeta- sub ->N. Williams
56'
61'
71'
José Carlos Lazo- sub ->J. Puado
71'
71'
José Carlos Lazo- sub ->Javi Puado
Raúl García- sub ->Iñaki Williams
71'
83'
Martin Braithwaite(goal)S. Darder
84'
86'
Óscar de Marcos- Yellow
90'
90'
90'

Standings

Standings
Team
Pts
Pl
Last 5
FC Barcelona
88
38
Real Madrid
78
38
Atlético Madrid
77
38
Real Sociedad
71
38
Villarreal
64
38
Real Betis
60
38
Osasuna
53
38
Athletic Club
51
38
Mallorca
50
38
Girona
49
38
Rayo Vallecano
49
38
Sevilla
49
38
Celta de Vigo
43
38
Cádiz
42
38
Valencia
42
38
Getafe
42
38
Almería
41
38
Real Valladolid
40
38
Espanyol
37
38
Elche
25
38

After this match, Athletic Club will stay with 7 points like Atlético Madrid, Celta de Vigo and Real Sociedad to remain in the 6th place. On the opposite side, Espanyol will have 4 points like Almería, Girona and Rayo Vallecano to remain in the 15th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the La Liga, Athletic Club will play away against Elche on the 11th of September with a 3-2 head to head in favor of Athletic Club (4 draws).

Espanyol will host Sevilla on the 10th of September with a 20-8 head to head record in favor of Sevilla (9 draws).

Athletic Club – Formation

Athletic Club
G
Unai Simón 1.Spain
6.6
D
Óscar de Marcos 18.Spain
6.9
90'
D
Yeray Álvarez 5.Spain
7.1
D
Iñigo Lekue 15.Spain
6.7
84'
D
Dani Vivian 3.Spain
6.8
M
Mikel Vesga 6.Spain
7.3
M
Oihan Sancet 8.Spain
6.1
71' 54'
M
Iker Muniain 10.Spain
7.2
M
Álex Berenguer 7.Spain
8.0
M
Nico Williams 11.Spain
7.2
56'
F
Iñaki Williams 9.Ghana
6.2
71'
Substitutes
G
Julen Agirrezabala 13.Spain
D
Ander Capa 21.Spain
D
Aitor Paredes 31.Spain
D
Iñigo Martínez 4.Spain
M
Oier Zarraga 19.Spain
M
Ander Herrera 23.Spain
M
Dani García 14.Spain
M
Raúl García 22.Spain
6.3
71'
M
Unai Vencedor 16.Spain
6.5
71' 90'
F
Asier Villalibre 20.Spain
F
Gorka Guruzeta 12.Spain
6.4
56'
F
Jon Morcillo 2.Spain
6.8
84'

Athletic Club started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

The manager Ernesto Valverde Tejedor decided to play with the following team: Unai Simón (6.6), Óscar de Marcos (6.9), Daniel Vivian (6.8), Yeray Álvarez (7.1), Íñigo Lekue (6.7), Oihan Sancet (6.1), Mikel Vesga (7.3), Nico Williams (7.2), Iker Muniain (7.2), Álex Berenguer (8.0) and Iñaki Williams (6.2).

The home team had on the bench: Oier Zarraga, Ander Capa, Julen Agirrezabala, Aitor Paredes Casamichana, Ander Herrera, Dani García, Asier Villalibre, Gorka Guruzeta (6.4), Raúl García (6.3), Unai Vencedor (6.5), Iñigo Martínez and Jon Morcillo (6.8).

Substitutions

Athletic Club made 4 changes: N. Williams for G. Guruzeta (56′), I. Williams for R. Garcia (71′), O. Sancet for U. Vencedor (71′) and I. Lekue for J. Morcillo (84′).

Best player: Álex Berenguer​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Athletic Club was Álex Berenguer.

His rating is (8.0) with 35 passes (77% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 7 duels out of 15. He performed 7 crosses. He hit the woodwork once times.

Espanyol – Formation

Espanyol
G
Álvaro Fernández 25.Spain
7.5
D
Leandro Cabrera 4.Uruguay
7.4
45'
D
Brian Oliván 14.Spain
7.2
D
Fernando Calero 5.Spain
7.1
D
Óscar Gil 2.Spain
7.4
M
Sergi Darder 10.Spain
8.2
M
Edu Expósito 20.Spain
7.1
46'
M
Vini Souza 12.Brazil
7.1
F
Joselu 9.Spain
6.4
F
Martin Braithwaite 17.Denmark
6.9
86' 83'
F
Javi Puado 7.Spain
6.6
71'
Substitutes
G
Angel Fortuno 34.Spain
G
Joan García 1.Spain
D
Simo Keddari 28.Algeria
6.4
61'
D
O. El Hilali 26.Morocco
7.0
M
Daniel Villahermosa 31.Spain
M
Keidi Bare 8.Albania
6.6
46'
M
Nico Melamed 21.Spain
M
José Carlos Lazo 16.Spain
6.4
71'
F
Dani Gómez 19.Spain
6.4
86' 90'

Espanyol started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

Diego Martínez Penas played with: Álvaro Fernández (7.5), Óscar Gil (7.4), Fernando Calero (7.1), Leandro Cabrera (7.4), Brian Oliván (7.2), Vinícius Souza (7.1), Edu Expósito (7.1), Sergi Darder (8.2), Javi Puado (6.6), Joselu (6.4) and Martin Braithwaite (6.9).

They had on the bench: Angel Fortuno, Daniel Villahermosa, Simo (6.4), Joan García, Keidi Bare (6.6), Nicolás Melamed, José Carlos Lazo (6.4), Omar El Hilali (7.0) and Dani Gómez (6.4).

Espanyol could not rely on the presence of Simo (injured) and O. El Hilali (injured).

Substitutions

Espanyol made 5 changes: Exposito for K. Bare (46′), K. Bare for Simo (61′), J. Puado for J. C. Lazo (71′), F. Calero for O. El Hilali (71′) and M. Braithwaite for D. Gomez (86′).

Best player: Sergi Darder​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Espanyol was Sergi Darder even if he didn’t score the decisive goal.

His rating is (8.2) with 41 passes (80% accurate) and 4 key passes. He was won 6 duels out of 8. He performed 2 crosses.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the La Liga.​