Athletic Bilbao defeats Mallorca at the beginning of the 23rd round

The emphatic win keeps the Basques dreaming of reaching the Champions League

The 23rd round of the Spanish League opened with Atletico Bilbao's victory at home against… Mallorca (4-0).

The star of the match was Youri Persich: the 33-year-old full-back scored his first brace in La Liga with two goals in the 3rd and 16th minutes, and opened the scoring with a beautiful shot.

With Portuguese Samuel Costa always on the bench, Mallorca faced many difficulties in the match and the only reason they did not trail by more goals in the first half was due to a brilliant save from Rajkovic, which prevented Gorka Gorozeta's goal.

But the 27-year-old striker scored in the 67th minute after a good performance from the Williams brothers – Inaki and Nico. But these two players left the field due to physical complaints, which worries the Basque team, as they will play against Atletico Madrid next Wednesday, in the first leg of the King’s Cup semi-finals.

Returning to the match with Mallorca, towards the end of the final whistle (89') Iker Muniain closed the score.

Ernesto Valverde's side have now won six consecutive home matches and remain in fifth place with 45 points. Mallorca ranks 15th with 20, and has not yet won the tournament in 2024 (after five matches).