- Athletic Bilbao secured a Champions League spot with a 2-0 win over Getafe
- Gorka Guruzeta and Dani Vivian were the heroes for the Basque side
- Getafe suffered their sixth consecutive defeat but remain safe from relegation
Key Takeaways:
Athletic Bilbao officially secured their place in next season’s Champions League. This became a fact after a 2-0 victory over Getafe last night at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez in the 36th round of La Liga. With this win, the Basque side are now mathematically guaranteed to finish in the top five, ensuring participation in Europe’s most prestigious club competition. The heroes for the visitors were Gorka Guruzeta and Dani Vivian, who scored the two goals in the 76th and 89th minutes, respectively.
Both teams were locked in a tough battle from the very beginning. The first notable situation came in the 15th minute when a Getafe player touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, but no penalty was awarded, even after a VAR review.
In the second half, the visitors pushed forward and managed to secure the victory. Guruzeta opened the scoring in the 76th minute with a stroke of luck, as the ball found its way to him at the edge of the penalty area, and he calmly slotted it into the net for 1-0. Athletic sealed the win with a second goal in the 89th minute. Dani Vivian found the net with a header following a corner, making it 2-0.
This result means Athletic have accumulated 67 points and occupy fourth place in the standings, eight points ahead of sixth-placed Betis, guaranteeing them a top-five finish. Getafe, on the other hand, continued their poor run with a sixth consecutive defeat. They are in 15th place with 39 points, but remain relatively safe from the danger zone, holding a five-point advantage over 18th-placed Leganes.