Athletic Bilbao 2 : 0 Valladolid - Bilbao up and running

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2012 by PA

Athletic Bilbao put an end to their nightmare start to the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Valladolid at San Mames.

Marcelo Bielsa's men had conceded nine goals in losing their first two games of the campaign, but put in a far more composed display and were rewarded 20 minutes from time when Aritz Aduriz stroked home his first league goal since returning to the club.

Markel Susaeta then sealed the points five minutes later when he curled beautifully into the top corner after being fed by Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta.

The hosts were again without Fernando Llorente as he and Ander Herrera both missed out with muscle strains, and they could have been behind early on when Patrick Ebert crossed for Oscar Gonzalez but his goalbound header was blocked by Andres Iturrapse.

However Athletic then began to take control and Inigo Perez's delivery in particular was causing problems as Susaeta headed wide and then saw another effort from a Perez cross come back off the post just before half-time.

The home side's pressure did eventually tell after the break although there was a touch of fortune about the opener as Susaeta's ball in was deflected perfectly into Aduriz's path for the striker to slot home.

Athletic's tails were now up and they could have added a second within seconds as Andoni Iraola was denied by Jaime and, from the resulting corner, Carlos Gurpegi turned another effort from Aduriz against the post.

Ebert then forced Gorka Iraizoz into his only save of the day with a decent shot from distance, but there were to be no more uncomfortable moments for Athletic as Susaeta picked the ball up just inside the area and curled the ball perfectly into the top right-hand corner of the net.