Celta wrote another chapter in its history at San Mamés. Claudio Giráldez’s team mathematically secured its return to Europe after earning a hugely valuable draw against Athletic, thereby confirming its second consecutive continental qualification, a milestone that had only been achieved once before in the club’s history.
Williot Swedberg’s early stunning goal allowed the Vigo side to hold out for many minutes under the Rojiblancos’ siege, sustained by Andrei Radu’s decisive saves. Iñaki Williams eventually equalized for Athletic, but the point felt like a victory for a competitive Celta side that managed to hold on to the result to secure its place in continental competition next season.
Abanca Balaídos will be the venue where it is decided whether Celta will play in the Europa League or the Conference League, so this Saturday our home must be a veritable cauldron so that together we can put the finishing touch on this magnificent season.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
1 – Athletic Club: Unai Simón; Gorosabel, Yeray, Laporte, Yuri; Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar (Rego, min. 71); Iñaki Williams (Izeta, min. 86), Unai Gómez (Navarro, min. 46), Berenguer (Serrano, min. 82); and Guruzeta (Maroan, min. 82).
1 – Celta: Andrei Radu; Javi Rodríguez, Yoel Lago, Marcos Alonso; Javi Rueda (Óscar Mingueza, min. 46), Fer López (Matías Vecino, min. 91), Ilaix Moriba, Sergio Carreira; Ferran Jutglà (Pablo Durán, min. 58), Williot Swedberg (Hugo Álvarez, min. 73) and Borja Iglesias (Iago Aspas, min. 58).
Goals: 0-1, min. 4: Williot. 1-1, min. 52: Iñaki Williams.
Referee: Isidro Díaz de Mera (Castile and León Referees’ Committee). For Celta, he issued yellow cards to Javi Rueda (10th min.) and Radu (42nd min.). For Athletic Club, Yuri (38th min.) and Laporte (68th min.) were booked.
Incidents: LaLiga ES Sports Matchday 37 fixture played at San Mamés Stadium in front of 45,105 spectators. Before the match began, a tribute was paid to coach Ernesto Valverde and player Iñigo Lekue on the occasion of their final match at “La Catedral.”
