Athletic stage quickfire goal-fest at Mestalla

No luck for Negredo

The Valencia striker was one of the most active in the first half. He had the best chances of the opening 45 minutes, but lacked the stroke of luck that would have seen him put Valencia in the ascendancy. His first opportunity came with a shot at the far post which crept just wide, and then shortly afterwards he picked up a ball in the heart of the area, but fired over the crossbar.

Muniain should have put Los Leones ahead

Athletic also had an opportunity to swing the balance their way in a very evenly matched first half at Mestalla. Iker Muniain went past Aderlan Santos in a one-on-one, but failed to beat Diego Alves with his curling shot.

Sabin Merino opens the scoring

We had to wait until the 73rd minute for the first goal of the game. It came courtesy of the young Athletic academy graduate, who found the back of the net with a header. Mikel San Jose linked up with Mikel Rico and sent a superb cross into the area, and Merino got in between the two centre-backs and headed home.

Muniain gets back among the goals

Four minutes after they made it 1-0, Athletic found the back of the net again. This time it was Iker Muniain. The Spaniard made the most of a Mikel Rico assist to put the ball past Diego Alves in a one-on-one, threading it through the Valencia keeper’s legs. He had not scored in the Liga BBVA since 30 August 2014.

Aduriz seals the win

Los Leones rounded off a dream seven minutes by making it 3-0 in the 80th minute. Aritz Aduriz was on cue, despite starting the game on the bench. The Basque striker and ex Valencia man decided not to celebrate his strike in front of his former fans.