Deportivo faith rewarded with a point

Athletic Club and RC Deportivo drew 1-1 in Saturday's final Liga BBVA matchday 36 fixture. A goal from Albert Lopo in injury time saw the Galicians pick up a valuable point that means they climb out of the relegation places, while the Basques stay provisionally in seventh.

The hosts came out with intensity in a powerful opening, threatening a Deportivo goalmouth in which Fabricio Agosto had to stop two attempts from Iñaki Williams and Mikel Rico in the early stages. And they did not take long to get their reward, taking the lead after 14 minutes thanks to an Aduriz header. Despite conceding, Deportivo began to gain ground bit by bit and carved out a great chance to equalise before the break, but Luisinho’s effort following nice individual play was just off target.

After half time, Athletic were close to finding the net with a shot from Markel Susaeta that flew just past the post. Aduriz also had an opportunity to put his side on track for the win shortly afterwards, with a left-footed strike that was pushed on to the crossbar by Fabricio. However, the visitors carried on fighting for a leveller right to the end, pushing forward into the Athletic area. And, with added time almost up, Lopo popped up to score with a heroic header that saw the encounter end 1-1 to keep Deportivo’s survival dreams very much alive.