Real Sociedad lost to Athletic Bilbao in the latest Basque derby, with tensions between the players and the coach of La Real.
Real Sociedad captain and forward Miguel Oyarzabal has hit out at coach Imanol Alguasil for saying after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao that La Real’s problems stemmed from the players’ attitude, according to Relevo.
Athletic Bilbao had the better of the early going and took the lead in the 25th minute through Oian Sancet, the only goal of the game, before Real Sociedad suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in the Basque capital, with a fairly close and aggressive game.
‘They were superior, better and there’s not much more to say. It’s not much different to any other derby. I think this derby is more competitive, it’s not as exciting but it’s very intense and there are very few chances. But I didn’t like this team in the first 25 minutes because we didn’t come to play a derby with or without the ball.’
‘We didn’t compete well. If I could have changed all 11 players at half-time, I would have,’ Alguasil said.
Asked what caused their slow start, Alguasil replied: ‘I don’t know. It’s strange for us. Teams always start well, for whatever reason. We were far below our level, both defensively and offensively, and that was very difficult. ‘
However, Oyarzabal disagreed with Alguasil’s criticism, questioning the game plan more than the player’s attitude.
‘Maybe we need to look at Promotion ufabet how we approach the game. In the mindset that we have, we all have to try to be self-critical. We as players are the ones who pull the chestnut out of the fire. We all have to look inside and we all have to try to be self-critical in our own way.’