Athletic Club boosted their hopes of European qualification with a 2-1 win over Real Betis in LaLiga, holding firm at San Mamés to end a four-match winless streak.

After failing to score in their previous three outings, the hosts started brightly and carved out two clear chances within the opening four minutes. Aymeric Laporte met Álex Berenguer’s cross but sent his header just wide, before Berenguer tested Pau López with a low strike, only for the goalkeeper to also deny Iñaki Williams on the rebound.

The breakthrough finally came in the 25th minute, with Williams turning provider as he set up centre-back Dani Vivian, who calmly slotted a low effort into the far corner from the edge of the box to open his account for the season.

Betis, fresh from a 4-0 win over Panathinaikos in the UEFA Europa League less than 72 hours earlier, struggled to replicate that form and lacked cutting edge, much to the frustration of manager Manuel Pellegrini in his 300th game in charge.

Their task became even harder just before half-time, as Williams grabbed his second assist of the match, timing his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before squaring the ball for Oihan Sancet to tap into an empty net for his fifth goal of the campaign.

In response to going behind—only the second time Athletic had led in 15 LaLiga matches—Manuel Pellegrini made three changes at half-time, introducing Héctor Bellerín, Sergi Altimira and Pablo Fornals in place of Ángel Ortiz, Marc Roca and Antony.

Betis nearly fell further behind nine minutes into the second half, but Pau López reacted sharply to tip Álex Berenguer’s long-range effort over the bar.

While Athletic continued to pose a threat, Betis also began to find openings, with Abde Ezzalzouli forcing Unai Simón into a smart save after bursting into the box and firing a low shot toward the near post.

That warning proved significant, as Betis pulled one back 15 minutes from time through Fornals, who curled a superb free-kick into the top corner from 20 yards to take his tally to seven for the season.

They thought they had equalised shortly after when Cédric Bakambu finished past Simón, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Betis’ late surge set up a tense finish, but Athletic held on to secure the win, lifting them to ninth in the table, just three points off the European places. The victory also marked their first league double over Betis since the 2017/18 season, while the visitors remain fifth but are now winless in five LaLiga matches.