At 1-1, Gazzaniga had saved his penalty and that wasn’t the half of it: he had already stopped Alex Berenguer’s penalty and when he was spotted off the line this time, Athletic allowed to try for a third time, Williams asked Ander Herrera to take it instead – so Gazzaniga saved that too, a unique hat-trick completed before Cristhian Stuani scored Girona’s 99th-minute winner.
In the final minutes before Athletic Club faced Girona on Saturday afternoon, Ernesto Valverde was asked who would take the penalties and gave an answer almost as loaded as the question: “Only one thing’s certain,” the coach said, “it won’t be me.” Less than an hour later, it had actually happened, which maybe it had to, another man standing before a screen inviting that guy back into their lives.
Oihan Sancet’s treble exorcises Athletic’s penalty pain against Girona | Sid Lowe Paulo Gazzaniga’s hat-trick of penalty saves was fresh in the mind but Bilbao ran out comfortable victors at San Mamés.
The last time he had faced Gazzaniga, four months earlier, had hit him hard, the striker insisting he felt responsible for a 2-1 defeat.
Paulo Gazzaniga rapped his studs against a post, tapped his fingertips against the crossbar and flashed the smile that broke so many hearts.
