Derbi Disaster: Own Goal Stuns Athletic in Six-Pointer Thriller

Average Futmetrix Score: 43/100. Álex Berenguer's calamitous own goal in the 57th minute proved the difference in a match where Athletic's relentless intensity could not overcome Alavés' defensive discipline and Antonio Sivera's heroics.

The Siege That Couldn't Finish

Athletic Club controlled San Mamés with suffocating intensity, unleashing 12 shots to Alavés' 4 and winning 6 corners in a display of attacking dominance. Yet precision abandoned them. Mikel Jauregizar orchestrated the midfield with a single key pass of note, but Athletic's final ball repeatedly let them down. The balance of the match—58% possession, 81% pass accuracy—masked a fundamental problem: clinical finishing.

Then came the nightmare. In the 57th minute, Álex Berenguer turned the ball past his own goalkeeper in a moment of horror that defined the afternoon. What should have been Athletic's platform for victory became their epitaph.

Sivera Stands Tall When It Mattered

Antonio Sivera was the architect of Alavés' unlikely triumph. With 3 crucial saves, the goalkeeper transformed a match where his team managed just 0.09 xG into a masterclass in defensive resolve. Alavés suffocated Athletic's creativity, ceding possession (42%) but never surrendering structure. It was a lesson in tactical discipline—absorb, survive, strike when the moment arrives.

The stakes here are immense. Athletic's loss at home wounds their top-four ambitions; they slip to fourth with 9 points, their winning streak (LWWW) broken by a self-inflicted wound. Alavés, meanwhile, climbs to seventh with 7 points, a crucial three-pointer in what promises to be a tight relegation battle. In a league where margins are razor-thin, this gift-wrapped victory could prove the difference between survival and despair.