Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams (left), vies for the ball. (AP) Athletic Bilbao rebounded from a poor streak with a 3-1 win over last-placed Levante in the Spanish league on Monday.
Mikel Vesga, Inaki Williams and Oier Zarraga scored in the final half-hour to give Athletic the home win and move the Basque Country club closer to the European places.
Athletic, sitting in eighth place, was coming off elimination against Valencia in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, where it was trying to reach its third straight final after losing the last two. It lost to Barcelona 4-0 in its previous league game.
“We needed this victory to help us recover from the disappointing loss in the Copa,” Vesga said. “We will keep fighting for the European places until the end.”
Athletic is eight points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid in the final Champions league spot.
Levante was trying to win for the third time in four matches after it earned only one victory in its first 23 league games. The loss left the Valencia side seven points from safety after 27 matches.
Levantes next hosts Espanyol, while Athletic visits Real Betis.
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