Athletic face a double challenge after stalling in LaLiga

Athletic arrive with the feeling that they need to hit the reset button after stalling in their last two matches. As Mundo Deportivo points out, the momentum began to slip after they built momentum with wins over Celta and Atlético Madrid—only for defeats against Elche and Alavés to cool the optimism generated by their excellent first-half display at Balaídos and their clear success versus the Colchoneros.

Back to their Balaídos level

The analysis points to a recurring issue: Athletic struggle when opponents sit deep and make themselves hard to break. In Elche’s case, Mundo Deportivo notes that during parts of the second half they even shifted to a defensive structure with six players, something that has cropped up in earlier seasons as well. The proposed solution is to press in the opponent’s half, but with a key adjustment: it shouldn’t always be necessary to stay right on top of the press, because it would be fine to drop back a few yards and let the rival play out with the ball.

The challenge and the key names

Mundo Deportivo also underlines how much Athletic rely on their standout performers. The article stresses that Sancet and Nico Williams can decide matches, and it adds that both were well managed in the derby on Saturday. Any team needs its top players, and in Athletic’s case that influence is especially noticeable.

So the immediate challenge is to return to the level shown before the break against Celta, described as one of the best first halves seen in years. The other missing piece is figuring out a way to unlock those teams that defend with numbers. Against Alavés, the text notes they didn’t create big problems going forward, but they did a great job defensively to leave Bilbao with a valuable draw.