Top-four-chasing Athletic Bilbao snatch draw against Osasuna
Following his goalscoring heroics with a brace in Athletic Bilbao’s 2-0 win over Getafe last time out, Inaki Williams looked to extend his scoring run early on against Osasuna.
Los Rojillos struggled to contain the Ghanaian forward and his early shot from close range was blocked before he raced clear of Osasuna’s backline and curled past Sergio Herrera only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Nico Willams then kept the Bilbao intensity rolling with a jinking run and snapshot from a tight angle that Herrera was equal to.
It was backs-to-wall defending for Osasuna for large spells in the opening quarter of an hour. However, the visitors soon showed their threat on the counter-attack when Raul Garcia went one-on-one with Unai Simon and slammed his finish high into the net, but the goal was also ruled out for a marginal offside.
In a busy evening for the officials, Iker Muniain was also denied his second goal of the LaLiga campaign after the provider, Alex Berenguer strayed offside during the build-up.
Osasuna then took full advantage of the let-off by racing to the opposite end of the pitch and Raul Garcia poked in Johan Mojica’s cross-come shot to give the visitors a half-time lead.
Ruben Garcia caused further problems for the Bilbao backline after the break and seized on a mix-up in the Lions’ defence to break clear and fire past the onrushing Simon to double Osasuna’s advantage.
Now potentially facing their first home defeat since the opening day of the LaLiga season, Bilbao needed a big response, which Inaki Williams duly provided by rifling a loose ball inside the penalty area into the top corner.
Ultimately, Osasuna retreated into their own half and frustrated the hosts with some last-ditch defending, until a lapse in concentration from Herrera led to the Osasuna goalkeeper dropping a late cross to Asier Villalibre, who tapped into the empty net.
Athletic Bilbao’s late comeback means they remain just four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, while the Lions are also well placed to secure a first top-five La Liga finish since 2015/16, with an eight-point gap over chasing Real Sociedad.
In contrast, conceding at the death was a bitter blow for mid-table Osasuna, who are now winless in five consecutive matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raul Garcia (Osasuna)
