The Williams Brothers Lead Athletic Bilbao to 3-2 Win at Villarreal in Spanish League

Brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams led Athletic Bilbao to a 3-2 win at Villarreal in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Nico set up a goal by Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta two minutes into the match and scored the second in the 22nd. His older brother Iñaki added to the team’s first-half lead in the 30th which proved enough to end a two-game winless run in the league.

The Basque Country club moved to fifth place, four points behind fourth-place Atletico Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Las Palmas on Friday.

Villarreal, sitting 13th, had ended its five-game winless streak in the league with a win over Granada in the previous round. The hosts threatened to grab a point Sunday through goals from Gerard Moreno in the 86th and Alexander Sorloth in the 87th.

Barcelona, which won 1-0 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, remained third, one point behind second-place Real Madrid, which hosted Rayo Vallecano later Sunday.

Leader Girona was three points clear of Madrid after winning 4-2 at Osasuna on Saturday.

VALENCIA EDGES GRANADA

Valencia beat Granada 1-0 with a penalty kick converted by Pepelu seven minutes into first-half injury time at Mestalla Stadium.

Granada, which stayed in second-to-last place, loudly complained about the penalty after Valencia forward Hugo Duro was apparently touched in the face by Granada defender Raúl Torrente.

It was the third straight league loss for Granada, which hasn’t won in nine consecutive league matches.

ALMERIA STILL WINLESS

Almeria’s search for its first win of the season will continue after a 1-0 loss at Alaves.

The last-place Almeria is the only team without a win after 12 matches, with three draws and nine losses.

Alaves defender Aleksander Sedlar scored Alaves’ winner in the 79th, and a couple of minutes later had to leave the field on a stretcher because of an apparent knee injury.

Alaves, which is 14th, hadn’t won in seven consecutive league matches. -AP

November 05, 2023