Both teams were keen to head into the World Cup break with some momentum, and, playing in front of their passionate fans at San Mamés, it was Los Leones who were by far the more threatening side in the first half. Guruzeta was involved in lots of the hosts’ good play, and the striker had an early chance when he headed just over the crossbar from Óscar de Marcos’ cross. Sergi Guardiola bent a shot just wide shortly after to remind Bilbao of Valladolid’s threat, but four minutes later Ernesto Valverde’s side were ahead when Iñaki Williams squared the ball to Gurezeta, whose first-time shot was saved by Jordi Masip, but the rebound rolled into his path and the Spaniard made no mistake to tap in for his fourth goal of the season.
The Basque outfit were well on top, and de Marcos had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-0 when, unmarked, he fired a shot wide of the right post from inside the area. A threat down the right flank throughout the first half, Williams thought he had doubled the hosts’ lead when he stretched out to divert a cross in from close range, but the linesman’s flag went up for offside.
The only negative point from a dominant first half was that Bilbao had not found a second goal. However, just five minutes after the restart, Guruzeta collected the ball inside the area before placing it perfectly into the left corner for his second goal of the night to give the hosts some breathing room.
Having had chances aplenty to extend their lead, Los Leones eventually made it 3-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining when defender Dani Vivian powered a header home from Iker Muniain’s free-kick to round off a miserable night for the Pucela, who remain in the respectable position of 10th for the time being.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gorka Guruzeta (Athletic Bilbao)