Sabin Merino graduates with honours against Betis

Betis carved out the first chance

The visitors came closest to breaking the deadlock in the early stages of the game, but luck was not on their side. Petros broke into the Athletic area and set up Ruben Castro, but the Betis striker sent his shot clean over the crossbar.

Sabin Merino's brilliance

Despite Betis' clear chance, it was Athletic who opened the scoring. On 34 minutes, Mikel San Jose set up academy graduate Sabin Merino, who masterfully chested the ball down before drilling it past Antonio Adan in the Betis goal.

From long distance

Athletic extended their lead just a minute before the break. This time it was Mikel Rico who scored, pouncing on a clearance from the edge of the area to hit a sublime volley that went in off the post.

Merino strikes again

The Athletic midfielder further extended the home side's lead five minutes into the second half. He capped an outstanding performance when he pounced, as Adan parried a shot, for his second goal of the game. The Betis keeper did well to keep Rico out with an impressive save but he could do little to stop Merino from tapping the ball in from close range.

Little more than a consolation

Despite being unable to help his team take anything from their trip to San Mames, Ruben Castro did get on the scoresheet. The Canary Islander hit the post late in the game but made up for it in the 85th minute when he headed home to make it 3-1.