Athletic Bilbao qualified for the Spanish Super Cup final, Thursday, after turning its delay into a deserved victory over its opponent, Atletico Madrid 2-1, at King Fahd International Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The match started with a clear caution from the two teams, as each side worked to keep the ball for a long time and exaggerated reliance on fortifying the back line and playing on the rebounds, which kept the result negative until the end of the first half.
In the second half, the attacking pattern rose a little, and Atletico Madrid managed to break the whiteness of the result with a first goal that came at the 62nd minute, from a corner kick, through which the ball reached the Portuguese Joao Felix, who hit his head and hit the post and then goalkeeper Unai Simon and entered the goal.
After his delay, Bilbao came out of his areas and pressed continuously on the Atleti areas until defender Liraz Alvarez managed to score the equalizer with a powerful header from a corner kick taken by captain Iker Muniain in the 77th minute.
🎥 Match goals | #Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 #Athletic Bilbao
In the voice of commentator Samir Al-Maarfi 🎙#Spanish_Super_Riyadh
#SSC_channels pic.twitter.com/QByLWMG1Vu— Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) January 13, 2022
Bilbao invested in the euphoria experienced by the team and continued its search for a goal against Jan Oblak, which was actually achieved after three minutes by the feet of Nico Williams, who received a ball and connected it inside the Atleti penalty and shot it powerfully on the right side of the goal.
At a time when a strong reaction was expected for the Atletico Madrid team, Bilbao maintained its balance and imposed its advantage until the final whistle of the meeting, which announced the victory of the Basque team.
Athletic Bilbao will face Real Madrid in the final, who reached the final scene on Wednesday, after beating Barcelona by three goals to two in an exciting match.
