Abde dresses again as Osasuna’s hero in the Cup

Abde once again dressed as Osasuna’s hero in the Copa del Rey. The unbalanced Spanish-Moroccan winger, on loan from Barcelona to the Navarre team, was the one who decided the quarter-final against Sevilla after extra time to take Osasuna to the semi-finals 18 years later and who, after breaking Athletic’s resistance at El Sadar, keeps the rojillos’ dream alive very much alive in a competition they never won. Abde once again showed his speed, transference and finishing ability to give Osasuna the lead in an intense and difficult match decided by the talent and strength of the Barca footballer that the rojillo team is now enjoying so much, and who is going through one of the best moments in his story.

The ticket to the final will be decided on April 4 in San Mamés, but thanks to Abda Osasuna’s great goal, he took a small step this Wednesday. On the counter-attack at the start of the second half, Moi Gómez’s long pass to the Spanish-Moroccan player, which beat Vivian, gave Osasuna a shot at Athletic. It was also Abde who had given Osasuna a Liga win three days earlier at Pizjuán and he was tasked with putting his team ahead of the more skilled Athletic, accustomed to duels in these struggles but lacking the more daring and direct football to impose their theoretical superiority. Without a shot, Athletic was not dangerous until the last minutes, when, desperately, they turned on the goal of Sergio Herrera, also the savior of the home team.

Amidst so much work and ferocity, the brilliant spark of young Abde, against whom Athletic and especially De Marcos had already suffered in the first half, was enough to settle the first leg of the semi-final, although the team from Biscay is still the favorite with the support of his hobby in within a month. However, the one who knew best how to read the first leg was a team led by Jagob Arrasate, who bided their time to find the scoring opportunity and, when they did, rallied hard and full of support to handcuff a shot-deprived Athletic . Nico Williams also played when his defeat was obvious, but the excessively fat Athletic could not manage even on the wing, and when he saw the deficit on the scoreboard, he played more with his heart than with his head. And they never could with the defense of Osasuna, a team with very clear ideas that when they assemble their lines and need to destroy and contain, they offer a higher level.

No play in midfield

Athletic still disappointed, especially in the second half. Ernesto Valverde’s team thought too much about being able to settle the tie in a month’s time in front of their fans that when they wanted to react it was already too late and they ran into a concrete wall that was impossible to hurt. Even the changes implemented by the coach of Athletico did not bear fruit, after Osasuna managed to tie the game based on the fight in the first half even before the 1:0 tie. The visitors had the most dominance then, but Athletic, who could not generate play in the midfield, barely had a good chance to score, handcuffed to Osasuna, which showed itself collectively. After the break, however, an Abde goal gave Osasuna wings, until in the final stretch Athletic pressure pushed the rojillos to take a step back and lock themselves in their own half. However, without creating danger. Athletic was not successful even in the ball because Osasuna imposed its law in the air game as well. All the precipitation and inaccuracies in the attack that Osasuna had in the first half were transferred to Athletic in the second half, who did not stop forcing, but were missing a shot. Iñaki Williams barely got to the ball, while Aridane and David García kept growing to lead a deserving Osasuna from the axis of defense. The ball ended up being Athletic’s monopoly, but the Biscayan team was left frustrated in the end. He has 90 minutes left to go around the semi-finals.

Technical document:

Osasuna: Sergio Herrera, Moncayola, Aridane, David García, Juan Cruz, Aimar Oroz (Brašanac, min. 86), Lucas Torró, Moi Gómez (Pablo Ibáñez, min. 86), Chimy Ávila (Rubén García, min. 71), Budimir ( Kike García, min. 71) and Abde (Kike Barja, min. 77).

Athletic: Agirrezabala, De Marcos (Lekue, min. 58), Vivian, Iñigo Martínez, Yuri, Dani García, Vesga, Berenguer (Raúl García, min. 58), Sancet, Muniain (Nico Williams, min. 65) and Iñaki Williams (Guruzeta , min. 82).

Goal: 1-0 min. 47, Abde.

Referee: Gil Manzano (Extremadura). Yellow cards Berenguer, Vesga, Budimir, Moi Gómez and Brasanac and Iñigo Martínez.

Incidents: The first match of the semi-finals of the King’s Cup, played in El Sadar. full. 23,026 viewers.