Villarreal wins in Bilbao to break clear of Atleti
Villarreal consolidated its grip on third place in LaLiga by edging out Athletic Club 2-1 at San Mames.
The Yellow Submarine saw top-four rival Atletico Madrid fall to a 2-1 loss at Sevilla on Sunday (AEST).
Marcelino's team took full advantage, thanks to two excellent counter-attacking goals.
Sergi Cardona put Athletic ahead in the 26th minute, rounding off a swift breakaway with a deft finish over Unai Simon after great work down the right from Tani Oluwaseyi.
Alfon Gonzalez nudged Villarreal further ahead on the stroke of half-time, capitalising on a defensive mix-up to hammer home.
Gorka Guruzeta turned home from Yuri Berchiche's cross in the 84th minute to give the hosts a lifeline, but a hopeful penalty appeal was the closest Athletic came to salvaging a point, as Villarreal moved four points clear of Atletico.
Nico Williams's return to fitness will not solve all of Athletic Club's issues, coach Ernesto Valverde said.
Spain winger Williams returned to Athletic's line-up for the first time in a league match since February, but could not help prevent the defeat.
Williams has been nursing a groin injury, and after making a substitute appearance against Getafe, got the nod to start in this game, featuring for 66 minutes.
He created a team-leading two chances, while successfully completing five of eight dribbles, both of which were game-highs.
The 23-year-old has scored four goals and provided two assists in LaLiga this season, but Valverde does not want to be too reliant on one player.
"Nico has been sidelined for a long time and playing through discomfort," Valverde said.
"Now we can't think that just because he's back, everything is solved. We also had a very tough opponent."
Boos from the home fans could be heard late on, as Athletic pushed for an equaliser. It sits in the bottom half of LaLiga and a European qualification push looks like a tall order.
"The atmosphere on the pitch wasn't very good," Valverde conceded.
"If you don't win, the fans don't like it; you have to win.
"It was a very tough match for us. They scored the first goal in an incredible play. Even so, we had chances to equalise with our pressure, and it was a shame about the last play of the first half with the score at 0-2.
"We could have scored, we pushed forward, taking a lot of risks, with some nervousness, but it wasn't to be."
Athletic has lost four of its past five league matches, while Villarreal moved four points clear in third place.
