After 34 minutes, Athletic Bilbao are not in a situation they would have anticipated at the start of this match. Defender Mikel San Jose has been shown a straight red card for taking down an attacking player as the last man. The referee’s decision was questionable, since Ustaritz was in a position where he could have conceivably caught up to the attacker, but San Jose’s challenge was dumb nonetheless and he really shouldn’t have too many complaints.
Athletic Bilbao Vs. Deportivo La Coruña: Mikel San Jose Sent Off, Bilbao Down To Ten
The referee won’t be the most popular man in San Mames today, but San Jose and Ustaritz have forced him into difficult decisions with incredibly poor decision making of their own. Whether or not the 22nd minute penalty and 34th minute red card were harsh, they still hacked at attacking players in goal scoring positions. They’ve been done in much more by their own stupidity than bad decisions by the officials.
It will be interesting to see if Depor adjust their strategy significantly against ten men or if they just find it easier to execute the same strategy of camping 10 men behind the ball.
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