Athletic Bilbao Falls to Real Madrid in a Challenging Match

The Athletic Bilbao appeared today at the Santiago Bernabeu in a difficult moment. The team, led by Cuco Ziganda, helped save the life of Deportivo de la Coruña last weekend at San Mamés. They did so by losing 2-3 against a Galician team that now feels much more hopeful thanks to the three points.

The match between the Basque team and a Real Madrid that already has their minds completely focused on the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, had one of its main focuses on the goalkeeper. And under the posts of the rojiblanco team was one of the standout names from last January, Kepa Arrizabalaga. Sober, dressed completely in black like the legendary Iribar once did, and far from the histrionics that have become more common in the world of football, the 23-year-old goalkeeper stepped onto the Real Madrid pitch.

Brilliant Match

Almost becoming a Real Madrid player during the last winter transfer window, where the reigning European champions considered paying his release clause, Kepa Arrizabalaga finally renewed with Athletic Bilbao until June 2025. Many eyes were on the player born in Ondarroa. And the truth is that his performance couldn't have been better.

43´ UUUFFF! Tremendous save by Kepa Arrizabalaga after a shot by Asensio inside the box! 0-1

- Athletic Club (@AthleticClub)April 18, 2018

The goalkeeper shone especially in the first half as he saved a good number of opportunities from the home team, who were desperately seeking a goal to equalize Iñaki Williams' opening goal in the 14th minute. In the 17th minute, he managed to stop a double attack from Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, while in the 32nd minute, he made another great save after Karim Benzema's header. Just when the first half was coming to an end (43rd minute), the Spanish international made an exceptional save to prevent Marco Asensio from successfully completing a brilliant move.

The situation changed in the second half. After securely blocking two long-range shots from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lucas Vázquez, the goalkeeper's best intervention after the break came in the 40th minute, repelling a shot from the Galician player. However, he couldn't do anything about Luka Modric's strike pushed by Cristiano Ronaldo's heel, which ended up in the net. The draw left a bitter taste for both teams. However, there is no doubt that the goalkeeper can be very pleased with his performance in what could have been his stadium.