Athletic take the spoils with a superb win in Vigo
A determined Athletic deservedly beat RC Celta to strengthen their grip on fourth places
Athletic never give up. Three days after the Copa blow, Los Leones have picked themselves up with a hard-fought 1-2 win over RC Celta Vigo at Balaídos.
Alex Berenguer and Dani Vivian, with second-half strikes, stunned the Vigo side, who rallied briefly after capitalising on a defensive mistake in the 74th minute to pull one back.
The Zurigorri remain fourth in the standings, but are now level on points with third-placed FC Barcelona. An incredible run of 11 matches unbeaten in LaLiga has Athletic sitting in a Champions League spot.
Nevertheless, there is a long way to go yet. An entire half of a season. Claudio Giráldez's team had collected 20 of their 24 points at the seemingly impentrable Balaídos this campaign. But Athletic were relentless, constantly chipping away at the Galician backline until we struck gold.
The first half was calmer than the second, but the Lions could have taken the lead via Berenguer and Beñat Prados if not for a couple of fine Vicente Guaita.
Celta tried to play with more urgency after the break, but they simply couldn't cope with the Williams brothers on the flanks.
Iñaki, now the second-highest assist maker in LaLiga this season after Lamine Yamal, helped set Athletic on their way when his low cross found Berenguer sliding in to score past Guaita.
With 30 minutes to go, Athletic looked for the killer strike. Nico went close twice before Vivian delivered with a centre forward-like finish in the box after Andoni Gorosabel had played a short free-kick for Unai Gómez to float into the area.
RC Celta were rattled but got themselves back into the match when Hugo Álvarez took advantage of a defensive lapse with roughly 15 minutes to go.
However, Athletic remained calm and collected, seeng out the match with ease. Iñaki could even have got a third.
The 500 fans in Vigo were in fine voice. Athletic have rediscovered their spark. On Wednesday we head back to Istanbul in search of a place in the Europe League round of 16.
