On Tuesday at 21 hours, this was never going to be a routine trip. Levante arrived with the kind of home form that can make any visiting side think twice, while Athletic came in carrying the awkward baggage of a draw with Elche and the familiar need to prove they can travel better than they did last season.
The good news for Athletic was simple enough: Iñaki Williams was available. The more important news was that Terzic had reason to trust him, saying he had given important things in recent matches. That matters in a game like this, because confidence is not a luxury for Athletic right now. It is the whole point.
Levante's home edge is real, and Athletic know it
Levante's home record before the visit of Barça made the picture look even more intimidating: seven victories and one draw in its last eight home matches. That is not the profile of a side inviting pressure. That is the profile of a team built to make visitors uncomfortable from the first minute.
And yet Athletic have had something to lean on at the Ciutat de Valencia. In the five most recent visits, they recorded three victories and two draws. So this was not a venue where Athletic walk in expecting trouble every time. If anything, the history suggests they have found a way to survive there more often than not.
That is why the match felt so uncertain. Levante had the home momentum, and Athletic had the recent head-to-head edge in this stadium. Both sides could point to something real. Neither could pretend the other was not dangerous.
The bigger problem for Athletic is not just the fixture
Last season, Levante salvaged the category thanks to its strong home form. Last season, Athletic was the fifth worst team away from home, ahead only of Elche, Osasuna, Mallorca and Oviedo. Put those two facts together and the stakes become obvious: Athletic are still trying to convince people that this project under Terzic is heading somewhere sturdier, while Levante are trying to turn the Ciutat de Valencia into a genuine weapon again.
That is why the Williams update mattered. Athletic need their best players available in matches like this, because these are the kinds of fixtures that reveal whether a team is settling into a pattern or still stumbling through one. Terzic may be early in his project, but early stages do not excuse poor away form, and they certainly do not protect a side if it starts giving away confidence at the wrong moments.
Levante at home versus Athletic away is exactly the kind of matchup that strips away comfort. One side wants to defend its turf. The other wants to stop looking vulnerable on the road. With Iñaki Williams available, Athletic at least had a serious attacking reference point. But that did not change the basic truth: this was a test of nerve, not just a test of shape.
