Athletic returned from the international break without their head coach on the touchline, with Ernesto Valverde serving the first of a four-game ban following his red card against Real Betis.
From whatever vantage point he was watching from, Valverde would have been underwhelmed with his team’s display in an uninspiring first half at San Mames, as their Basque rivals did their utmost to negate their attacking threat.
The home faithful had to wait until the 42nd minute for the game’s first shot on target, with Mikel Jauregizar’s driven effort from distance requiring Antonio Sivera to make his first meaningful stop of the contest.
Alaves boss Eduardo Coudet was clearly displeased with his team’s first-half performance, opting to introduce Lucas Boye, Toni Martinez and Denis Suarez at the interval.
Coudet’s alterations were validated just before the hour mark when Suarez’s cross from the right took a wicked deflection off Alex Berenguer, causing the ball to loop over the helpless Unai Simon and drop in at the far post.
Frustration grew around the stadium when Inaki Williams spurned a glorious chance to net a near-instant equaliser, sending his diving header fizzing past the far post. Williams managed to find his radar with another header, only to be denied by Sivera’s quick reflexes.
As the game drifted towards the latter stages, it was clear that Athletic were missing the services of Inaki’s brother, Nico Williams, who picked up a muscle injury on international duty with Spain.
While they did not have Nico to worry about, Alaves still showed great defensive discipline to keep their hosts at bay, clinching their first clean sheet and away win of the season.
Despite the defeat, Athletic stay in second spot for the time being, with two points separating them from Alaves in seventh spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Denis Suarez (Alaves)
