A fantastic game at the San Mames Barria last night saw Athletic Bilbao run out 4-2 winners over Real Valladolid. The three points takes Athletic back up to fourth in La Liga, in their personal duel against Villareal for a Champion’s League spot.
Valladolid, deep in a relegation dogfight, took a surprise lead on 15 minutes through Oscar. It was enough to take them into a half-time lead and Athletic’s unbeaten run at home this season looked to be under threat. The second half was a whole different affair.
The equaliser came on 65 minutes from Ibai. Oscar de Marcos,who came on as a substitute before the hour mark, added the second ten minutes later and suddenly Athletic were rampant. Their quick, attacking play was a pleasure to behold and Valladolid had no answer to Ibai and Aritz Aduriz up front.
Ibai grabbed his second on 82 minutes and the game was officially over. It was only his sixth goal of the season, he must wish that he played Valladolid every week. Ander Herrera notched his team’s fourth goal on 86 minutes and was booked shortly afterwards.
There was an injury time consolation for Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side – late substitute Valdet Rama making the final score 4-2. Valladolid played their part in a hugely entertaining match, but they will need to defend much better if they are to climb out of the La Liga drop zone.
