Athletic Club is one year away from the European zone after finishing in tenth position in the League table, without having reached the top six that guarantee a place in the Champions League or the Europa League. The last time that the Andalusian club was among the positions that ensure access to continental competitions was on the eighth matchday of last year, when they beat Mallorca in San Mamés and placed fifth in the standings.
Since that victory, the team has suffered a constant fall in the table. Following the victory over Mallorca, Athletic remained in fifth place for the rest of the season, but were relegated to seventh position on three occasions, earning them UEFA ranking awards. In the current season, the club is in tenth position and has not managed to rise above ninth place, despite having two games pending that could improve its situation.
Although the actual classification is not final due to pending matches, Athletic has the possibility of improving its position. If they win at least one of their remaining matches, they would be tied in points with seventh place and, with a complete victory, they could rise to fifth position, thus entering the European zone. In the most favorable case, a win in both games could take the club to the Champions League, although this would require exceptional performance in the final games of the season.
The club's objective remains to secure a place in European competitions, as has been its usual objective. The technical management and fans hope that the team can recover from the fall and achieve the necessary classification before the end of the season. With the season still underway, Athletic will have to take advantage of the remaining games to close the gap with the teams that occupy the European places and prevent the season from ending without a continental pass.