There is certainly no doubt now that Athletic fans are beginning to fear the worse. Sitting at the top of the relegation zone in 18th, the club that boasts of having never been relegated travelled to Levante, with hopes of an improvement in form. There is always a sense of dread surrounding some clubs at this time of year as we approach the halfway point of the season. Fans of clubs lurking at the base of the table begin to realise that survival might only be achieved by an unlikely miracle or the appointment of a smiling, tracksuit wearing Tony Pulis. Athletic Club have achieved a grand total of one win this season; the same as bottom place Huesca. It is an impressive eight draws that have seen the side accumulate 11 points. As can be expected, the Spanish media have attempted to dissect and investigate how a club the size of Athletic, with all its esteemed history can possibly find itself in such a dire situation. It certainly has worrying similarities to Hamburg in the Bundesliga last season. Many fans have blamed the predictable football of manager Berizzo while others have stated that this downturn began after the departure of Valverde 18 months previously. The debate surrounding Athletic’s Cantera policy has also come to head once more, with commentators of the game respectfully concluding that the Basque-only policy cannot compete with modern football. Others have suggested that the talent in the Basque country have been persuaded by riches elsewhere, out of reach of the club when it handpicks players from other Basque clubs. Some Athletic fans I have spoken to are concerned but would rather endure relegation than change their ways.

The club have for some years now fielded a recognisable set up. A 4-3-3 that focuses on getting the ball out wide before whipping in dangerous crosses has seen the club achieve success. But now, sitting in the relegation zone, the club have begun to experiment. For kick-off against Levante, the team fielded five at the back whilst Muniain played in central midfield. In the first half, Athletic used their full-backs to good effect while the narrowness of the team helped them play through the middle. A good lofted through ball by San Jose found Aduriz but the striker under pressure aimed his lightly struck shot at the keeper. At 37 years old the club veteran is beginning to show his age. With the game turning stale, a goal just before half-time a Rochina free-kick found itself to Morales who had his shot come off the leg of Chema. The defender then regained his balance to strike home whilst surrounded by opposition players. The away side had their heads dropped as they left the field for the break, they had done well to keep Levante at bay for 44 minutes but had barely threatened goal at the other end.

After the break, Levante were finding space on the flanks. The two full backs of Athletic were the sides wide outlet and found themselves out of position often. In the 59th minute, Levante worked the ball into the box from the wing, leading to Campaña tucking home a rebound from Herrerín. The keeper had saved Morales’ effort but failed to clear the ball effectively. Ten minutes later, Levante had their third when a lovely lobbed ball from Morales found a darting Campaña – the player played an exquisite delicate touch to Roger Martí who crept the ball over the Athletic goalkeeper. The away side’s misery continued when Peru Nolaskoain was sent off for a dangerous sliding challenge. During the game Athletic were shown to lack creativity and were defensively inept. The club members had had enough after the defeat and parted ways with manager Berizzo. Gaizka Garitano has been subsequently appointed in his place as Marca ran with the headline ‘The lion is injured’. Next, they play Girona at home.

Sevilla travelled north to Vitoria- Gasteiz on Sunday to face Alavés in what would be an incredibly even affair. Calleri led the line for the home side with pacey Ibai and Jony on the wings. After kick-off it quickly turned into an energetic affair. Duarte tested Vaclík with a low drive from distance in the early moments while Ben Yedder under pressure from Manu García shot narrowly wide. Then in the 37th minute, an Alavés ball forward was touched on by Gómez, leading Calleri to run onto the ball behind the defence. His squared ball found Jony at the far post for a tap in causing the fans to erupt in celebration. After the break, Sevilla brought on the dangerous Quincy Promes who has been excellent for the Andalusians so far this season. He could have had a goal here too when he ran through on goal but chipped into the side netting. The away side had fantastic movement on and off the ball in the final third, often dragging the Alavés defence out of position. In the 78th minute, Ben Yedder lost his man in the box to appear in front of Pacheco and strike the ball home from Sarabia’s low cross. With the equaliser, the two teams went in search of a winner with longballs and dangerous crosses. Good saves from both goalkeepers kept the sides level. Alavés stay in fourth and have a tough challenge against Athlético Madrid next weekend.

Also on Sunday, Real Sociedad went the other way, with a journey to Seville to face Real Betis. Both teams were cautious after kick-off, but the game soon burst into life after Júnior Firpo’s goal in the 33rd minute. A pass to Joaquín from a corner gave the player time to swing in a cross. Carvalho headed the ball back to Firpo who had acres of space to control and fire home at the back post. The move had training ground routine written all over it. Soon after, Sandro raced forward against two Betis defenders only to see his powerful effort tipped behind. Two minutes later, Zurutuza should have scored when a neat ball from Moreno needed touching home, arriving late the ball bounced wide after coming off the players shin. After the break, Sociedad continued their good movement and passing to get into goal scoring opportunities but Pau López continued to deny Sandro. Januzaj still trying to find his from is occasionally trigger happy and fires at goal instead of looking for a well-positioned teammate. Betis lacked energy going forward and perhaps needed more urgency to unsettle the defence of Sociedad. They did however appear intent on protecting their one goal lead. Sandro had one of the better games of his current spell in San Sebastián but still struggles to finish his chances despite his good awareness and movement. Next, Real Sociedad play Valladolid at home.

Kicking off the weekend of football was Rayo Vallecano versus Eibar on Friday evening. After the heroics of Cucurella and a dominant display against a Real Madrid still in crisis, Eibar have had considerable media attention. Defeating the current Champions League winners looked easy for the Gipuzkoans, so they were expected to travel to the Spanish Capital with confidence and take away another three points. How wrong we were. Cucurella was once again on the wing while Enrich led the line with Jordán playing high behind him. Young Catalan Cucurella continued his good form early on, dispossessing Rayo defenders more than once before offloading the ball into space. Eibar were also dominating possession and controlling the tempo of the game. Oliveira came close from a Jordán freekick but saw his volley saved. Ángel delivered a lovely lobbed ball into the box with Jordán heading at goal but again a diving Dimitrievski denied the Basques. After halftime, Rayo emerged aggressive and with urgency. Moving the ball out to the flanks, the home side found space. In the 53rd minute, left-back Moreno paired up magically with García to move the ball to the edge of the box. Moreno then feinted right before shifting left and delivering a great low ball to Embarba who guided the ball acutely into the corner of the goal. Eibar tried to bounce back but found their efforts thwarted by a determined Rayo defence. Eibar were frustrated by the home side and no doubt recognised the need to be more clinical in front of goal regardless of the victory over Madrid. Next up, Levante at home. They’ll be hoping to accomplish more than their Vizcayan neighbours.

Osasuna hosted Lugo on Sunday with the aim of defeating the struggling Galicians. With Juan Villar leading the line, the Pamplona club would have been hoping his pace could open-up the opposition defence. This was seen shortly after kick-off with Ruben Torres delivering a lovely cross to Villar who saw his effort saved by Carlos. Lugo did show throughout the game that they have a knack of counter-attacking effectively, one such attack was stopped by the outstretched arm of Rubén. Another at the start of the second half required Rubén to dive low to his left to prevent a goal. Osasuna were the dominant side and found acres of space on the flanks but failed to convert the subsequent chances in the box. Just as it felt that a draw had been decided, a clever corner routine from García helped him to find substitute Iñigo Pérez who angled the ball home. He jubilantly ran to the supporters as Osasuna picked up a huge three points from a game where they weren’t quite at the races. Next, they play Albacete.

Player of the Week

Rubén García

It was a difficult week in which to choose a player who really stood out. Some lacklustre results and a disappointing performance by many of the strong players resulted in me choosing Osasuna midfielder Rubén García. His importance to the team can not be underestimated and he perhaps belongs in the premier division. With his assist to Pérez, the midfielder is now top of the assists table with five. He was also the main provider during the course of the game, helping his teammates get into goal scoring opportunities. Despite their inability to finish, the player persisted and constructed a neat one-two by the corner flag in the dying minutes to give himself time in which to deliver his assist. He has been fantastic this season and the club will hope his good form continues.