Athletic Club secured their first win of the season under new manager Edin Terzic with a 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo, leaving the home side with only one point from their opening matches and just two wins in their past 10 home games.
Both teams made seven changes to their starting line-ups as they looked to improve their early fortunes, having collected only one point between them before kick-off.
Celta created the first clear opportunity with their reshaped side. Ferran Jutgla chased a ball over the top before cutting it back for Williot Swedberg, but the midfielder sent his shot straight at Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Athletic soon began to threaten. Oihan Sancet tested Ionut Radu twice in quick succession, while Aymeric Laporte headed narrowly over the crossbar.
The warning went unheeded and Athletic took the lead after 20 minutes. Alex Berenguer carried the ball into the penalty area, shifted his body to create space and curled a composed finish beyond Radu. It was Berenguer’s first goal since December.
Athletic immediately applied further pressure from the restart, winning possession back high up the pitch within 10 seconds of Celta kicking off again.
The turnover led to their second goal. Inaki Williams played the ball across to Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, who produced an excellent through pass for Robert Navarro. Navarro collected it inside the area and guided his finish into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Radu then kept Celta in the game by saving from Williams as the first half entered its final 10 minutes. The hosts almost pulled one back shortly afterwards, but Ferran Jutgla’s header from a corner struck the top of the crossbar, leaving Celta two goals behind at the interval.
Celta manager Claudio Giraldez responded by making four substitutions at half-time in an attempt to change the momentum. His side showed plenty of effort after the restart, but Athletic created the first notable chance of the second half when a flowing move ended with Sancet shooting over.
Carl Starfelt came close for Celta just before the hour mark, escaping his marker at the near post from a corner but heading narrowly wide. It proved to be one of the home team’s few openings after the break.
Athletic continued to search for a third goal in the closing stages. Nico Williams curled an attempt just over the top corner, then had a penalty appeal rejected before dragging a major chance wide.
Those missed opportunities did not matter as Athletic comfortably protected their advantage. The result means they avoid starting a LaLiga campaign with three matches without a win for the first time since 2011. It was also only their second clean sheet in their past 31 league games.
Celta will hope their difficult beginning does not define their season. They finished sixth last term despite failing to win any of their first nine matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ionut Radu (Celta Vigo).
Match statistics are available through Flashscore.
