Athletic Bilbao midfielder Benat Etxebarria scored with a deflected shot to secure a 1-0 win at last-place Cordoba in the Spanish league on Friday.
Cordoba’s 15th straight game without a win left it eight points from safety before the rest of the teams play this round.
Etxebarria’s shot went in off a defender in the 56th, while Cordoba missed a number of opportunities.
Photo: EPA
Misses by Bebe, Angel Crespo and Fede Cartabia in the second half earned them jeers from the stands as Cordoba remained with just one home victory this season.
Cordoba’s one bright spot was goalkeeper Juan Carlos Martin’s acrobatic save to push Aritz Aduriz’s goal-bound header off his bar in first-half injury time.
“The team went out there trying to win today, and we had a lot of chances to score a goal, but we just weren’t able to so and they scored off a bounce,” Martin said. “The only thing left to do is to try and pick ourselves up and keep fighting while we still are mathematically alive.”
Bilbao stayed in eighth place, with hopes of moving up into Europa League positions.
Leader Barcelona were to visit crosstown rival RCD Espanyol yesterday aiming to protect their two-point lead over Real Madrid, who visit Celta Vigo today.
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