Athletic Bilbao seal timely La Liga at home to Villarreal

Athletic Bilbao have edge up to seventh place in La Liga as they clinched a 2-1 win at home to Villarreal.

Marcelino’s side collected three league points for the first time in five games thanks to a late spot kick from skipper Iker Muniain at the Estadio San Mames.

The hosts looked to set the tempo from the start in the Basque Country, as Inaki Williams crashed an effort against the crossbar, before veteran midfielder Raul Garcia finished off a slick team move.

However, the Yellow Submarine did rally themselves before the break as Francis Coquelin’s powerful drive deflected home for the equaliser.

Francis Coquelin equalises for Villarreal! 🟡

Good work by Danjuma and with the help of a deflection the ball finds the back of the net 👏 pic.twitter.com/YAqLcNDU93

— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) October 23, 2021

Both sides had chances to take the initiative after the restart with Unai Simon superbly keeping out Arnaut Danjmua before Muniain made the key difference.

Alberto Moreno was penalised for a foul on Unai Vencedor and Muniain tucked home, but the captain opted to hand spot kick duty to Alex Berenguer for their second spot kick in the closing minutes, but he was denied by Geronimo Rulli.

Images via Getty Images