Iñigo Baqué Brace Leads Athletic U23 To 2-1 Win Over Liverpool In The Premier League International Cup
Javi Murua wins a ball against Liverpool (AC)
Athletic’s U23 team played the third and final match of the Premier League International Cup group stage on Wednesday with the Kumeak matched up against a very strong Liverpool side. Following a loss to PSG in the opening fixture and a draw against Wolves, Athletic needed a victory in order to have a chance to advance to the next round.
From the opening kickoff the Basques were in great form. Athletic forced the goalkeeper to make three saves before finally opening the scoring in the 27th minute. Andoni Tascón was played through on goal and the ball eventually fell to Iñigo Baqué who finished from close range to take an early 1-0 lead. The score wouldn’t last long.
Less than ten minutes later a similar play would lead to a second goal from Baqué as the 21-year-old finished off a rebounded shot from Jon Guruzeta in the box. The first half would come to a close with Athletic ahead 2-0 but Liverpool refused to back down and continued looking for goals of their own well into the second half.
Liverpool would finally pull one goal back in the 82nd minute when a long shot from Jack Bearne took a deflection to beat Ander Iru. The late strike wouldn’t be enough to get back into the game as the final whistle sounded soon with Athletic having won 2-1 with an excellent performance in England. With the victory, Athletic and PSG finish tied with 4 points but Joseba Etxeberria’s side come in second with fewer goals scored and have been eliminated from the tournament.