Athletic frame Getafe clash as their first final

Athletic are treating their upcoming meeting with Getafe at San Mamés as their first final. The match, scheduled for Sunday, has become a rallying point after the setback against Levante. Iñaki Williams believes recent problems are resurfacing and has called on his team to respond immediately.

“We have to start valuing every point and taking three if we don’t want to repeat the mistakes that made last season so difficult,” the captain said. He also stressed the value of returning to San Mamés and having the crowd behind the team, with one clear priority: winning.

The game against Levante left Athletic with regrets. At Ciutat de València, the team made several costly errors. On the first of the incidents described, Levante broke forward after Athletic had won a free kick but then lost possession. Athletic remained stunned until half-time.

Iñaki Williams summed up one of the failures bluntly: “Youth-team errors,” he said. Yeray, captain from the start, also criticised the team’s opening: “You can’t start a match like that.” The defender said the time had come to “grit our teeth, because we have to win on Sunday”.

Williams also warned that “things are starting to get serious”. He said he is always concerned and noted how difficult it can be to play under pressure when a team gets caught in an uncomfortable run. His message, however, also carried confidence: the squad trusts its coach, Edin, and believes that taking a step forward could make the season “very beautiful”.

Athletic will therefore look to turn that call for unity into a response on the pitch against Getafe. Williams says the team must start collecting points again to prevent the negative run from growing.