BARCELONA: Alex Berenguer scored twice in the first half as Athletic Bilbao moved up to third place in La Liga after a 2-1 home win in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Bilbao have 41 points, level with Barcelona in fourth and seven points behind leaders Real Madrid and Girona, who all have a game in hand.

Berenguer broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark by tapping in a cross from close range and 12 minutes later he doubled the advantage by capitalising on a rebound.

Sociedad attempted a late comeback and Mikel Oyarzabal reduced the deficit two minutes before stoppage time, but Bilbao held out.

Sociedad are sixth with 32 points.

Meanwhile, former Real Madrid playmaker Isco drove home with 14 minutes to go to earn Real Betis a 1-0 win over lowly Granada to take his team seventh, back above Las Palmas who thumped Villarreal 3-0 earlier on.

Kirian Rodriguez struck twice as Las Palmas continued their impressive campaign with a convincing win over struggling Villarreal.

Francisco Garcia Pimienta’s Villarreal rose to eighth provisionally, giving them belief they can compete for European football.

Villarreal, dumped out of the Copa del Rey on Monday by third-tier Salamanca, languish in 14th, four points above the relegation zone.

Kirian struck early on and Juanma Herzog doubled the islanders’ lead early in the second half when he headed in a corner.

Las Palmas wrapped up the win when Kirian netted his second after the hour, helping his team recover from their own Spanish cup knock-out against local rivals Tenerife and snapping a four-game winless run.Elsewhere, Real Mallorca came back to earn a 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2024