With no points and no goals from their opening two matches in La Liga, the pressure was on Cádiz to put in an improved performance in front of a buoyant Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla. Los Piratas’ task was made harder by facing an unbeaten Athletic Bilbao, who were yet to concede in their opening two matches this season and the visitors quickly took control of the match. Bilbao’s early pressure then paid off when Santiago Arzamendia’s loose back pass was intercepted by Williams, who rounded Cádiz goalkeeper Jeremías Ledesma and fired into the empty net.
Suddenly, Los Leones swarmed Cádiz in attack and the hosts committed yet another defensive error as Alfonso Espino handled in the penalty area, giving Williams a chance to strike a third goal in three at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla. However, the striker’s tame spot-kick was saved low by Ledesma to give Los Piratas some hope of bouncing back after HT.
Responding with a goal was going to be a troubling mission for Cádiz, considering the Andalusian side had not hit the net in 194 minutes before this encounter. The visitor’s chances of a comeback win were then shattered as Íñigo Lekue passed to substitute Guruzeta on the edge of the area and the striker thumped an unstoppable shot into the bottom right corner, giving Ledesma no chance of making a save. Bilbao remained on top and Nico Williams’ flick inside the penalty area found Álex Berenguer, who fired in a third from close range in the closing stages before Guruzeta curled in his second in injury time.
Cádiz showed little sign of breaking their goalless run in La Liga and Los Piratas rarely threatened a controlled Bilbao side, which will leave Sergio González worrying about where goals will come from if his side are to avoid another relegation battle this season. In contrast, Athletic Bilbao were ruthless when chances came and Ernesto Valverde couldn’t have hoped for a better start this season as Los Leones move up to fifth in the table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Iñaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
