Athletic Bilbao 0-4 Sevilla; Payback is a Bitch

By: Anthony | September 27th, 2009

No one in Nervión can forget last year when we were absolutely embarrassed by our former coach Joaquín Caparros and his determined Athletic side in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal; having kept that in mind, we decided to give him a bit of payback.

Fabiano was back in the squad but Negredo got the nod over him to start alongside Kanouté and Zokora was replaced in the centre of midfield by Lolo. Perotti picked up a knock against Mallorca and wasn’t included in the squad meaning Capel started on the left side of the midfield. Drago also once again started in the centre of defence alongside Squillaci as Escudé is making his recovery to full fitness.

Having made those changes to the lineup we still looked strong from the get go with Renato feeding and endless supply of decent balls up to our front pair and Lolo supporting perfectly. Just 5 minutes into the match was all it took for us to take the lead as Renato hit a perfectly placed free kick into the bottom corner out of reach of Iraizoz’ outstretched arms.

Despite taking the lead, we never let up at all as just 15 minutes later, Diego Capel sent Negredo through on goal and our record signing finished with the greatest of ease and showed exactly why he’s not only the club’s record signing but also the highest earner in wages per week. Absolute class.

We carried on like a team who was really hungry; a team who wanted to prove that we’re here to stay and not just one who will let Real or Barça win the league without a massive fight. Like the German national team who is never satisfied with just a simple result but rather in absolutely demolishing their opponents, we grabbed another goal just before half as we had a freekick just outside the box which Negredo struck hard but right at Iraizoz, but the Athletic keeper couldn’t contain the shot as big Fredi Kanouté was there to knock in the rebound.

The struggle continued for our Basque opponents as Amorebieta received a second yellow for a rash tackle on our new star right back, Sergio Sánchez and was sent off.

The sending off made Athletic change their tactics to a more defensive mindset which is why despite being a man up and dominant in possession, it took us about 20 minutes to finally score once again. This time it was another quick play on the flank which saw Lolo feed Negredo on the wing who then slotted it through to Jesús Navas who smashed an unusual left footed shot to the far side of Iraizoz’ goal, way out of the goalkeeper’s reach.

Again it was an excellent buildup in the play which shows that this team really does have what it takes to compete with the big boys of La Liga. This was not only a fantastic result for our own personal results but in smashing Athletic 4-0, we set a La Liga record which is as follows.

No one in the 80 year history of the Primera División has ever won by 4 goals in San Mames.

We are goooooooooood.

This win also gives us the confidence we will need as we travel to Glasgow midweek to take on Rangers in second match of the Champions League qualifying round. A win in Scotland would not only show that we’re strong domestically but also against one of the top side’s in Europe. It would really show the progress that the squad has made under Jiménez despite all the critics over the past few seasons (myself included).

Everything is looking up for us in Nervión, we’ve certainly showed the strength we have since our opening day loss to Valencia at the Mastalla and now even sit 4 points above the team who handed us our only defeat thus far this season.