Athletic Bilbao showed their defensive resilience to secure a goalless draw away at Mestalla on Saturday. The La Liga matchday nine fixture ended Valencia 0-0 Athletic Club, a result that leaves the Basque side tenth in the table with 8 points from six games.
Terzić's side, set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, enjoyed 63% of possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances, managing only two shots on target. Valencia, for their part, had more attempts (16) but lacked precision and failed to beat Unai Simón, who made three important saves. The first half was punctuated by yellow cards for Aymeric Laporte, for a foul in the 38th minute, and Beñat Gerenabarrena, for handball just before the break.
Halftime change and second half
Terzic made his first change at halftime, replacing the cautioned Gerenabarrena with Mikel Jauregizar. The pattern of the match, however, remained similarly congested in midfield. Iñaki Williams and Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, who also received a booking, were the next to depart, making way for Gorka Guruzeta and Alejandro Rego Mora in the 63rd minute. Jesús Areso came on for Johaneko Louis-Jean in the same tactical shuffle.
The latter stages saw further rotations, with Maroan Sannadi replacing Guruzeta just five minutes after his introduction. Valencia also utilised their bench with five second-half changes, but neither side could find a breakthrough. Home goalkeeper Dimitrievski was largely untroubled, recording just a single save.
This point extends a positive run for Athletic, who are now unbeaten in their last five matches (DDWDD). With seven goals scored and six conceded this season, their balance is steady. The next challenge is another away trip, this time to face 17th-placed Levante on Wednesday, 21 October. Fans can view the full schedule on our fixtures page.
Athletic Club confirmed on Monday that striker Gorka Guruzeta suffered an injury during the match against Valencia. The player had to be substituted in the 68th minute after taking a knock. Guruzeta, whose availability for the next match against Levante is in doubt, is a significant loss for a team sitting 11th in La Liga with 9 points.
