Four days later, Villarreal departed for the Basque Country. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Van Bizhuang did not travel with the team, not only him, but also Nihat, Rossi, Godin and nearly six other players did not travel with the team, they were left at the training base and could only watch the clash against the Basque Lions on live television in the club's conference room.

Athletic Bilbao has always been a force to be reckoned with in La Liga, in its more than 100 years of history, this team has gone through ups and downs, there have been glories, there have been falls, but whether it is prosperity or decline, Athletic Bilbao is a headache for all opponents, this is a team with extremely tenacious willpower and extremely tough style, in any case, they maintain a strong fighting spirit, even if they end up losing, they will make the opponent extremely uncomfortable in the process of the game.

The characteristics of La Liga can be summed up in three words, that is, "technical flow", most of the teams in the league are delicate in their feet, smooth in coordination, skilled in transmission, they are good at relying on technology to eat, and it is inevitable that they will be weaker in physical confrontation.

And Athletic Bilbao is an outlier in the league, perhaps because the Basque people have a fierce and aggressive factor in their blood, this team is almost a team composed of pure Basque players, and the style shown on the court is to hold high and fight, dare to fight, they just like to use their bodies to rush, to collide, and to crush the opponent as much as possible from the confrontation.

This kind of iron-blooded and tough style of play, to a certain extent, is very restrained in the technical flow of the team, you play the technique of the feet, people fight with you, if you provoke others, people even dare to fight with you!

It can be said that this is a "crazy opponent" that most La Liga teams are unwilling to face, and Villarreal is naturally no exception.

It's not easy to play, but now there are fewer main players from many teams among the people who go to the away stadium, and the game is naturally even more difficult to play. At least in the eyes of the media and fans, Villarreal's trip to the Basque Country this time is estimated to be more than lucky.

As expected, after the start of the game, Athletic Bilbao quickly established the advantage on the field, their ferocious scrambling and crazy running, greatly curbed the passing and receiving of the visiting team, and at a certain time, Villarreal was even surrounded in the half, only the strength of the beating did not fight back.

In this game, due to the absence of many main players, Pellegrini could only send young players and new signings in several positions. In the past, although the team also had the initiative of "bringing the old with the new", but as now, a small half of the starting lineup are unfamiliar faces, and it is conceivable how much the combat effectiveness has been discounted.

The problem with young players is that they play few games, face fierce professional leagues and fierce opponents, lack of experience, inevitably rush around, and it is difficult to fully play their strength. The new signings who came from the winter transfer have a lot of game experience, but the integration with the team is a big problem, and there are often coordination mistakes on the field, and this kind of mistake is caught by the opponent, which brings huge trouble to the team.

Throughout the first half, Villarreal was almost pinned to the ground by the home team. Fortunately, Riquelme and other veterans struggled to support and dispatch, so that the team would not be completely messed up. Thankfully, despite the hard work, the score was still 0-0 at half-time, and the submarine's stubborn defense of the reclaiming line prevented the Basque Lions from finding the back of the net.

Several people in the club's screening room watched the first half in horror, and their faces were a little nervous and anxious. The team is completely at a disadvantage, which is something that anyone can see, and if the team doesn't change in the second half, then it will be a matter of time before they concede a goal - or even more than a goal, and with the excitement of Athletic Bilbao right now, if they do score a goal, it will probably go crazy, and Villarreal may also collapse, if that happens, the team is likely to face a painful defeat.

"I suddenly regretted going to see that good show, and if we had been able to play, maybe it wouldn't have been hard to see."

Fan Bizhuang said complainingly, and Fran and the others also nodded in agreement. It's not that I'm really angry, it's just that my heart is touched.

Nihat was also depressed, and he was anxious to see the team's predicament, but at this point, he could only keep praying for the team and his teammates on the road: "Believe in the team, believe in our partners." They will definitely make it to the end! ”

Everyone was helpless, and they could only comfort themselves like this.

It seemed that the prayers and shouts of several teammates who were "guarding the house" were heard, and after half-time adjustments, Villarreal's performance improved significantly in the second half.

Manuel Pellegrini brought on Carney and Hosiko to strengthen the midfield and Villarreal put on a counter-attacking stance. The home team's attack is still full of momentum, and the away team does not have many counter-attacking opportunities, but because of the accumulation of multiple defenders in the central and backfield, it is difficult for the home team's attack to enter the dangerous hinterland, and the away team, which has gradually adapted to the opponent's attack, has begun to become more comfortable.

The offensive and defensive momentum of the two sides is still obvious, but Villarreal has also begun to have sporadic counterattacks under Riquelme's organization and scheduling.

Villarreal's luck was obviously good, in the seventy-third minute, the midfielder made a successful interception, Mavuba kicked the ball to Riquelme, the Argentine did not choose to pass, unexpectedly directly crossed the halfway line with money, and quickly advanced more than ten meters before the home team players who filled in the position were pressed.

Riquelme moved the ball to the left side, replaced Fan Bizhuang in this game, and served as the starting Fernandes skillfully received the ball, and then used his outstanding individual ability to rush left and right in the front field, and suddenly changed the line to the middle, knocking the football back, and the follow-up Riquelme pretended to hit the goal directly, but it was a light straight stopper, sending the football into the penalty area.

The running position is the Danish veteran Tomasson, this is his first start after joining the submarine, as the team's single arrow, he has been very average for most of this game, this is no way to do it, the team is in a passive situation, teammates are busy running around to put out the fire, naturally on the offensive end can not give him too much support.

But a legend is a legend, and the veteran's experience has been fully demonstrated at this moment, and the few opportunities have been firmly grasped by him.

Riquelme's through ball was just right, the ball arrived, Tomasson did not stop the ball, raised his foot to shoot while running, and a burst shot knocked Ilesos unresponsive, and the football rushed into the top corner of the goal.

0:1, Villarreal, who has been in a passive position, exceeded the score through a quick counterattack.

This result was a bit of a surprise, at least at the moment when the ball was in the screen, they all stood up excitedly, waving their fists and yelling.

"Shoot beautifully! This ball is really powerful! ”

"The sword is not old! Thomasson is awesome this time! He's the team's hero! ”

"Idols deserve to be idols, hahaha! It's a relief now, Basque little cubs, aren't you pressing us and beating us up? Ha, you are more fierce, we are not afraid of you! ”

When the excitement passed, Rossi raised his concerns: "After all, it is the home stadium of Athletic Bilbao, and they have a great advantage on the field, and now they are behind, they must not give up, right?" I think the team has to strengthen their defense and be careful of the opponent's counterattack, otherwise it will ......."

"Otherwise, your sister......" Nihat rubbed the Italian boy's hair unhappily, turning it into a messy bird's nest, "you kid don't want others to destroy your own prestige, hmph, now we are ahead, we will definitely win the final victory!" ”

"That's right, the victory is ours!"

"Basque kittens, there is only one expression after the game, and that is tears!"

"Giuseppe, don't crow's mouth, or I won't let you go!"

The teammates complained dissatisfied, and Rosie shrunk her neck and muttered depressedly, "I'm just worried...... It's really ......."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Rossi's concerns are very reasonable, in his home stadium, with the support of tens of thousands of fans, and at the same time the situation is also dominant, the always tough Basque Lions are naturally unwilling to be killed like this.

The fierce counterattack came unexpectedly, and the backward Athletic Bilbao was like a wounded beast, pouring out of the nest like a dead man.

Generally speaking, there will only be two results, either to achieve what you want and score a goal, or to be sneak attacked by the opponent's counterattack and fall behind more in the score.

But Athletic Bilbao is undoubtedly the former, Villarreal's formation was already a little deformed by the home team's fierce attack, and now a more dense and ferocious attack hits, and the away team immediately has an unbearable momentum.

Pellegrini yelled anxiously on the sidelines, making gestures again and again, and constantly giving instructions to his disciples on the spot.

But the effect was also mediocre, Villarreal was completely suppressed within half the pitch and struggled to support.

But this strong support did not last until the end of the game, and in the 83rd minute, Diego. López's goal was still announced, when Llorente scored a powerful header to level the scores.

After the score was equalized, Athletic Bilbao's strong breath seemed to be relieved, their offensive was indeed crazy and fierce, but no one could maintain a high-intensity attack for the whole game for 90 minutes, and the reason why they gritted their teeth and attacked regardless of it was all supported by the idea of unwilling to lose.

The ball went in, the score equalized, and the breath naturally dissipated.

Of course, Villarreal's situation was not much better, and they struggled to defend most of the game, and even if they wanted to counterattack at this time, they were powerless.

The game was a bit of a tiger, the two sides seemed to acquiesce to the draw, each took a point, and then for nearly ten minutes, neither team was able to create too many threatening chances, time passed, the final whistle blew, and the game ended with a score of 1:1, and the two sides shook hands.

Pellegrini still has some regrets about the result of only one point, but this is also acceptable, at least the team walked away from the San Mamés stadium without losing, which is already very good.

After all, Athletic Bilbao is not a soft persimmon.