Last minute equaliser from Urko Vera salvages a point for Athletic Bilbao - La Liga match update
Athletic Bilbao’s dreams of qualifying for UEFA Champion’s League suffered a huge blow, as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Monday evening. Bilbao squandered a great opportunity to close the gap on Villarreal and
now remain nine points behind the yellow submarine.
Getafe manager, Michel, made several changes to his starting line-up from a 2-0 defeat against Sporting Gijon recently. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miku-c25758 started upfront in a 4-4-2 formation. Athletic Bilbao also made several changes to their team that beat Sevilla
2-0 last week. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Llorente-c13671 started upfront as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.
Getafe started the game in an upbeat fashion, as they came close to scoring twice in the opening five minutes. Javier Arizmendi tried his luck from a long range effort on both occasions but in vain. Couple of minutes later, Juan Albin forced his way into
the Bilbao penalty area and saw his powerful strike fantastically saved by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gorka-Iraizoz-c15189.
Getafe continued to dominate the proceedings and created several chances. The hosts dominated with 55 per cent of possession and outplayed the visitors in the midfield battle. The visitors had a first sight on goal in the 40th minute when Carlos
Gurpegi dispossessed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pablo-Orbaiz-c28995.
The second half started at a furious pace, as both teams came extremely close of scoring with early efforts. Getafe finally opened the scoring in the 58th minute as Arizmendi played a lovely one-two with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Manu-del-Moral-c23377, before the latter smashed
his shot into the top right corner to make it 1-0.
Moments later, the visitors were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position after http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Derek-Boateng-c10959 played a foul challenge on Moreno David Lopez. Lopez swung in a free kick and Manu headed it into his own goal to make it 1-1. Manu, who became a hero seven
minutes earlier as he scored for the hosts, instantly became a villain after scoring at the wrong end.
The game dried up after the visitors found themselves on level terms. When it looked like the game was heading for a draw, the hosts found themselves ahead, and it was the same man Manu again. Arizmendi found Manu just outside the box and the striker curled
his shot into the top left corner to make it 2-1 for the hosts.
The pace of the game suddenly livened up after the goal and Bilbao snatched an equaliser in the last minute of the play. Lopez curled in a swinging corner and Urko Vera headed it into the bottom left corner of the goal to make it 2-2 and salvage a point
for his team.
Getafe will face a stern test in their next fixture when they visit Camp Nou to take on Barcelona on 19th March, while Athletic Bilbao take on Villarreal on 20th March.
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