Pacheco. Good in general lines. He took out a couple of dangerous shots from Real in the first half although he also had some trouble with his footwork. In the second, some indecision but meritorious actions against Sorloth and Portu.
Tenaglia. More vertical and offensive than in previous games. He defends at a good level and begins to help in attack. He avoided a header from Isak in the first half, complicating the final jump. In the second half he made a great shot from outside the area that was stopped by Remiro.
The guard. Imperial before the break. Attentive, well placed and forceful. Huge in the game of head and in the anticipation. In Real’s goal he loses space and Zubimendi wins the game. He even gave the impression that he touched the ball before entering the goal.
Lejeune. Solid but with some mistakes like the one in the first half that allowed Portu to go down the wing and serve a great pass to Isak that almost ended in 1-0. On a free kick, which he deflected with his head, he almost scored an own goal. A lot of work with the txuriuriñ tips.
Ruben Duarte. A lot of work with Portu for his band. Well placed defensively and trying to help him up the left wing. He got along quite well with Luis Rioja when it came to making coverage and covering his spaces.
Thomas Pine. He entered the starting eleven when everything indicated that, after his adductor injury, he was going to be a substitute. Loum or Escalante were aiming to play at the start but Mendilibar opted for the player from La Mancha. He was good at midfield anchor but substituted in the second half. He was the first change of Alavés.
Tony Moya. He has class, he throws free kicks and corner kicks but sometimes he has to be much more forceful in midfield. He cannot lose compromised balls. In the first part, for example, he received an exemplary anger from his coach. He also ended up being substituted.
Peter Pons. Midfielder in the center and helping the two pivots in the center of the field. He usually gets to places close to the goal, but sometimes he makes the wrong decisions. He went to the bench when Mendilibar decided to make the substitutions in the final stretch of the game.
Edger Mendez. The most active of the first half for his band. He was able to score after some good targeted control but was later ruled offside. Along with Joselu, he is the man who smells the most gunpowder and approaches the rival goal.
Louis Rioja. He tried to create danger from the first minutes but was very well controlled by the San Sebastian defenders. In the second half he had more depth, he made a very dangerous shot that Remiro took from him and ended up going to the bench. In fact, he sat outside of it, staring off into the distance.
Joselu. Offering himself as always, helping in the aerial game but with very few scoring chances. It was an island in the first half and people like Pons or Edgar were closer to scoring than him. In the second he was about to score after a shot by Escalante but Remiro was very inspired.
Climbing. He entered the match replacing Tomás Pina and, as always, put a lot of intensity. He was about to score in the second half but the ball was cleared by the defense in a play in which a penalty was requested. He wasn’t. In the second instance, it was Joselu who tried to score.
Jason. He brought danger to the opposite goal with good passes from the wing. Also when taking corners and fouls once Toni Moya had gone to the bench. He is a footballer who contributes a lot to the band and who plays for a place every weekend with Edgar. Pellistri already seems half discarded.
Loum. It seemed that he would be a starter but Mendilibar decided on other teammates. He contributed physicality in midfield and served a great pass to Joselu who went quite high in the final stretch of the game. The normal thing is that he is regaining prominence in the team after missing the Seville clash due to the cycle of five yellow cards.
Manuel Vallejo. Again leaving the bench but offering to create danger. He was very close to scoring with good oriented control and a point-blank shot that Remiro took from him. The one from Cascante had a lot of prominence at the Reale Arena on Sunday afternoon-night.