By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Bilbao, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Athletic Bilbao used a pair of goals in a two-minute span on Monday to claim a comfortable 2-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal at the San Mames.
Coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Valencia on Oct. 6, Bilbao was on the front foot early on and earned the first goal of the match in the 33rd minute when Moreno Rico found the back of the net.
The hosts quickly made it a two-goal advanatge just two minutes later after former Valencia man Aritz Aduriz tallied, and things got even more difficult for Villarreal just before the intermission when Bruno was shown a straight red card, reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Villarreal tried to get back into the match with counter-attacking opportunities, but were never able to break down Bilbao's backline and suffered its fifth defeat of the season.
The result sees Bilbao up to sixth place on 16 points, while Villarreal remains in fourth with 17 points.
In Monday's other La Liga fixture, Pape Diop scored a stoppge-time winner as Levante edged Celta Vigo by a 1-0 score at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/quick-strikes-see-bilbao-past-villarreal