Although leading by two goals, Atletico Madrid did not defend conservatively, intending to maintain the two-goal lead.
With Qiao Anchen and Falcao in hand, there is no need to be afraid of confrontation.
Therefore, the two sides continued to fight fiercely. Athletic Bilbao had no choice. After all, they were behind by two goals. Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, was confident.
In the 29th minute, Qiao Anchen took the ball and attracted three defensive players to block him, then passed the ball out. Then Diego sent the ball to the frontcourt with a through ball.
Unfortunately, the ball was passed a little too far. Although Falcao succeeded in countering offside and was not offside, he failed to grab the ball. The ball rolled into the penalty area and was forcefully blocked by goalkeeper Ilesos. He could not stop it.
Falcao also stepped on Ilesos' wrist.
Ilesos immediately hugged his wrist and screamed in pain. The nearby Biba players immediately surrounded him and started pushing and scolding Falcao.
Naturally, Atletico Madrid was not to be outdone. Qiao Anchen, Diego, Adrian and others also stepped forward to protect Falcao while confronting the opponent.
Fortunately, the referee Wolfgang Stark made a prompt decision, immediately intervened between the two camps, decisively isolated the two sides, and did not let the situation develop into a physical fight, and recruited medical staff to check on Elisos.
of injuries.
Fortunately, Falcao stepped on the end of the glove and did not directly step on the skin. Therefore, Ilesos was not injured. He only felt pain for a while. The team doctor sprayed some blood-activating blood to remove blood stasis.
The spray does little damage and does not affect the subsequent competition.
However, Falcao was still shown a yellow card by Wolfgang Starck as a punishment for not closing his feet in time and colliding with the goalkeeper.
Falcao and his Atletico Madrid teammates did not defend themselves. There was nothing wrong with the yellow card.
The game continues.
After receiving a yellow card and almost triggering a physical conflict between the two sides, Falcao seemed to be affected and became a little quiet for a while.
In the 32nd minute, Falcao even made a low-level mistake. When he was dribbling the ball to break through Biba's midfielder Javi Martinez, he tripped and fell. The ball was easily intercepted by Biba.
Moreover, Athletic Bilbao also took advantage of the opportunity brought by Falcao's sudden mistake and launched a very threatening quick counterattack. In the end, Susaeta made a pass from the wing, and Llorente fought for the top in the middle.
When the first header was passed, left midfielder Munia volleyed the ball straight into the upper left corner of the goal with a very high quality shot.
Many people thought the goal was going to be scored, but Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a world-class save. His super-fast reaction allowed him to almost miss the ball over the crossbar.
The commentators were all amazed:
"Shoot!!!"
"Wow……"
"The ball didn't go in!"
"Courtois did a great job. He made a world-class save and deflected Muniain's powerful volley over the crossbar."
"What a pity, Athletic Bilbao was very unlucky today."
"Goalkeeper Ilesos made a low-level mistake and conceded the ball. Now Muniain's volley in the penalty area cannot score."
"Luck is not on Biba's side!"
Indeed, even such a close-range volley was saved by Courtois, which was a serious blow to the morale of the Athletic Bilbao team.
On the other hand, at Atletico Madrid, Falcao was still upset because he lost the ball and was hit on the counterattack. At this time, seeing his teammates' amazing save, Falcao thanked Courtois for saving his mistake.
While reflecting on my performance just now, it was indeed wrong.
So Falcao began to adjust his mentality.
But Athletic Bilbao doesn't know yet and thinks Falcao is still in poor condition!
Then, in the 39th minute, when Qiao Anchen got the ball in the frontcourt and started to break through, Athletic Bilbao's defenders collectively surrounded Qiao Anchen and guarded him tightly.
The rest of the team also blocked Diego who came in from the back row, ignoring the marking of Falcao.
As a result, after Qiao Anchen sent the ball to Diego who had inserted into the penalty area, Diego, who felt that there was no space to kick, looked at the unguarded Falcao at the far end and decisively passed the ball from the right to the left.
By the time the Athletic Bilbao players followed the path of the ball and saw the unmarked Falcao, it was already too late.
What else can be said about neglecting a top striker like Falcao?
With no one marking him, Falcao received a pass from Diego at the back point on the left side of the penalty area, only three or four meters away from the goal. He easily headed the ball into the goal.
Goalkeeper Ilesos was just preventing Joan Chen or Diego's shot from the right. He had no time to pounce and could only watch the ball go into the net in despair.
At 39 minutes and 50 seconds of the first half, Diego assisted Falcao to score a header. Atletico Madrid led 3-0 and basically sealed the victory.
Atletico Madrid fans in the stands and in front of the TV cheered and clapped excitedly, and Falcao and his teammates were also celebrating in the stadium.
With a three-goal lead, the championship is basically guaranteed.
In the next few minutes, Athletic Bilbao, whose morale was severely hit, did not organize any decent attack.
But Atletico Madrid was also unlucky and failed to expand the score. Qiao Anchen had a good shot opportunity in the penalty area before the end of the first half. Unfortunately, the opponent's defender pushed him from behind when he shot, although it still hit the goal frame.
It was inside, but it was not a big threat and was easily confiscated by goalkeeper Elisos.
After 2 minutes of stoppage time, referee Wolfgang Stark blew the whistle to end the first half. The two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 3-0. Atletico Madrid won with Joan Chen's brace.
Falcao's icing on the cake gave him a big lead.
At the end of the game, the players of Athletic Bilbao were all downcast, while Atletico Madrid were talking and laughing, very relaxed.
Atletico Madrid fans in the stands also held various banners and slogans, portraits, and Europa League champion models, and happily sang the team song to celebrate the team's victory in advance.
As a result, after entering the locker room, the head coaches of both teams became angry.
Bilbao coach Bielsa was naturally dissatisfied with the team's performance and low morale in the first half. Although they were three goals behind, there were still 45 minutes left in the second half, right? It wasn't the end of the world. Everyone looked downcast, as if the game was over.
, as if defeated.
There are no examples in the history of football of coming back from three goals behind in the final. Isn’t the Miracle Night in Istanbul in 2005 a ready-made example?
After being bombarded by a crazy coach, the Athletic Bilbao players finally regained their morale, cheered each other on, and decided to give it a try again in the second half.
As for Atletico Madrid, Simeone also used the Istanbul night as an example to warn his disciples not to be careless and to be cautious in the second half to prevent their opponents from counterattacking.
At the same time, we must continue to strive for goals and completely kill the suspense of the game. It is not the time to celebrate yet.
After a 15-minute rest, the game changed sides in the second half. At the beginning of the second half, Athletic Bilbao substituted two players and replaced them with two offensive players to strengthen their attack.
They had to fight against the odds and give it a try. Even though they knew that removing defensive players, replacing them with offensive players, and strengthening the offense would make it easier for Atletico Madrid to counterattack, there was nothing they could do.
With three goals behind, they had no choice.
In the 47th minute, Biba got the ball after fighting in the midfield. They didn't even have the patience to organize their passing and control of the football. They directly passed the ball diagonally and hoisted the ball into the penalty area.
With his back to the goal, Llorente grabbed the first header and passed it to his teammate Perez, who had just come on as a substitute.
Perez first stopped the ball with his chest to avoid the interception of Atletico Madrid defender Miranda, and then volleyed sideways and successfully hit the goal frame. However, the angle was too right and was easily blocked by Courtois and then confiscated.
In the 49th minute, Athletic Bilbao made a comeback. Susaeta made a pass from the right, but it was too close to the goal.
Courtois struck decisively and held the ball over Llorente's head, without giving the opponent a chance to compete for the header.
Athletic Bilbao's attacks are endless, and Atletico Madrid's strategic formation shrinks, but it is not that they can't defend, they are just looking for opportunities.
Biba, which has been aggressively attacking, has many gaps in the backcourt. As long as Atletico Madrid seizes a chance, it can completely kill the game.
Of course, before that, just like Simeone said, we must guard the goal and not give the opponent any hope.
At halftime, Atletico Madrid players were indeed a little carried away, but after Simeone's reminder, they did not continue to underestimate the opponent. In addition, Biba was a bit unlucky, and the attack after the opening of the second half was unable to break Atletico Madrid.
's goal.
While guarding the goal and not giving the opponent any chance, Atletico Madrid also constantly looked for opportunities to counterattack, preparing to give the opponent a fatal blow and completely kill the suspense of the game.