The best version of Nico Williams drives Athletic and leaves Alavés shaken

Athletic Club resists stepping down from the fight for Europe with a standout name shining above the rest: Nico Williams. The red-and-white winger led the comeback in the derby against Alavés with a decisive double in a second half to remember, keeping the continental aspirations of the Bilbao team alive. On the other side, Alavés, despite their good start, will have to keep fighting to avoid relegation in the remaining four league rounds.

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ALAAlavés

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Antonio Sivera, Abde Rebbach, Victor Parada, Ángel Pérez, Nahuel Tenaglia, Jonny, Antonio Blanco, Denis Suárez (Jon Guridi, min. 61), Pablo Ibáñez (Ander Guevara, min. 61), Toni Martínez and Ibrahim Diabate (Carles Aleñá, min. 72)

ATHAthletic

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Unai Simón, Aymeric Laporte, Yuri Berchiche, Yeray Álvarez, Andoni Gorosabel (Jesús Areso, min. 72), Mikel Jauregizar (Íñigo Ruíz de Galarreta, min. 45), Alejandro Rego, Unai Gómez (Oihan Sancet, min. 45), Nico Williams (Adama Boiro, min. 88), Iñaki Williams (Robert Navarro, min. 45) and Gorka Guruzeta

Goals 1-0 min. 7: Antonio Blanco. 1-1 min. 45: Robert Navarro. 2-1 min. 67: Nahuel Tenaglia. 2-2 min. 73: O. Sancet. 2-3 min. 82: Nico Williams. 2-4 min. 86: Nico Williams

Referee Alejandro Quintero González

Yellow cards Toni Martínez (min. 27), Valverde (min. 40), Pablo Ibáñez (min. 48), Guruzeta (min. 58), Antonio Blanco (min. 58), Nico Williams (min. 75), Mikel Jauregizar (min. 83), Aleñá (min. 91)

The derby started with an unexpected script, with Alavés striking first. In their first approach, Antonio Blanco’s stunning goal arrived, surprising with a shot to the top corner, reflecting the determination of the Babazorro team in the opponent’s field. Athletic, celebrating Ernesto Valverde’s 500 matches in charge of the bench, showed a very gray image in the first half, without a single shot on goal and struggling to create danger.

After the break, everything changed. Valverde moved the bench bringing in Sancet, Ruiz de Galarreta, and Robert Navarro. The impact was immediate: on his first touch, the former Real player scored the equalizer and completely changed the dynamics of the match. Athletic grew from there, dominating and pushing Alavés towards their area. However, when the visitors were at their best, the home team struck again from a set piece, one of their great strengths, with Tenaglia as the protagonist.

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Far from collapsing, Athletic reacted again. Sancet took charge and scored the equalizer with a highly skilled action inside the area: control, including a turn, and feints before finishing precisely. And then the decisive figure of the match appeared. Nico Williams burst in strongly at the key moment. First, entering the area with determination, controlling with his right foot and crossing the ball past Sivera. And almost without a break, he took advantage of a Tenaglia error to complete his double and seal the derby. 7

A second half to remember for Athletic, who turned a changing match into a victory of great value. Nico Williams’ final recital keeps the red-and-whites fully alive in the fight for Europe, while Alavés will have to keep fighting to ensure survival.

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Standings

Position	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
15 MLL	38	34	10	8	16
16 GIR	38	34	9	11	14
17 ALA	36	34	9	9	16
18 SEV	34	33	9	7	17
19 LEV	33	34	8	9	17

Position	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
6 CEL	44	33	11	11	11
7 GET	44	33	13	5	15
8 ATH	44	34	13	5	16
9 RSO	43	33	11	10	12
10 OSA	42	33	11	9	13