Athletic Club

Victory at Las Llanas

Athletic beat Eibar 1-0 as Djaló scores his first goal and De Marcos and Paredes get their first minutes of the pre-season

A great goal by Álvaro Djalo gave Athletic Club a 1-0 win over SD Eibar at a vibrant Las Llanas. It was a good run-out for Ernesto Valverde's Lions, whose preparations for the new season are now beyond the halfway mark in terms of matches played.

The starting XI, led by Gorka Guruzeta as captain, was full of academy products, who played most of the match. What's more, Oscar de Marcos and Aitor Paredes returned to action after recovering from their respective injuries.

Neither team truly troubled the opposition goalkeeper early on. However, Athletic showed showed some nice touches against an experienced and settled Eibar team set to start their season soon. Adama Boiro and Adu Ares on the left-flank were Athletic's standout players as they combined well throughout the first half.

Adu Ares picked up a knock straight after the restart and was replaced by forward Javier Martón. Eibar had a good spell in which Peru Nolaskoain hit the crossbar and Oier Gastesi kept out a Matheus Pereira free-kick with a superb save.

Then it was time for captain Oscar de Marcos and Aitor Paredes to get their first minutes of the pre-season. They came on alongside Álvaro Djaló, followed a few minutes later by Ander Herrera, Beñat Prados and Oihan Sancet.

Just when it seemed that the game was heading for a draw, Athletic's summer signing lobbed the Eibar shotstopper with a stunning effort from close to the halfway line.

Next up the Zurigorri will take on CA Osasuna this Saturday (20:30 CEST) at Lasesarre in the final of the Euskal Herria Cup.