Having recorded their second-largest winning margin in La Liga with a 6-2 victory over Almeria last time out, the visitors looked full of confidence in the opening exchanges, and took an early lead with just four minutes on the clock. Viktor Tsyhankov did well in the box to lay the ball off to Aleix Garcia, who curled a superb strike beyond Unai Simon for his first goal of the campaign.
Buoyed by the early breakthrough, Girona continued to impress with their sharp attacking play in the final third, and deservedly doubled their advantage in the 19th minute, when Oscar de Marcos diverted a header from Valentín Castellanos into his own net.
With four defeats in their last six league matches, Bilbao knew a positive response was needed, and after a number of chances went begging, they finally halved the deficit, as Yuri Berchiche drilled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Undeterred by the brief setback, Girona swiftly restored their two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time, when a dangerous free-kick from Garcia landed on the head of Mikel Vesga, who saw the ball ricochet beyond the helpless Simon.
Bilbao emerged after the restart desperate to gain a foothold in the contest, however, a lack of cutting edge in the final third continued to frustrate the home support, with Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams both wasting good opportunities. At the other end of the pitch, Girona maintained a threat despite their two-goal cushion, and Rodrigo Riquelme spurned a glorious chance to put their three points beyond all doubt, when his close-range effort was thwarted by substitute Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala.
As time ticked into the final five minutes, the hosts gave themselves hope of a late comeback, when R. Garcia capitalised on lax defending to confidently slot home. However, this ultimately proved too little too late, as Girona held firm during the closing exchanges to secure a well-deserved three points. The result sees the visitors rise to 10th after successive victories in the league, while Bilbao remain 7th, having missed a golden opportunity to move into the European qualification spots.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aleix Garcia (Girona)
