Athletic Bilbao 0 - Las Palmas 3

Bilbao: Lafuente; Lacruz (Felipe 70'), Alkorta, Oscar Vales, Larrazábal; Javi González, Urrutia, Julen Guerrero, Yeste (Ezquerro 60'); Joseba Etxeberria, Urzaiz. 4-4-2.
Las Palmas: Nacho González; Baiano, Alvaro, Schurrer, Paqui, Angel; Pablo Lago (Edu Alonso 88'), Samways, Jorge; Guayre (Orlando 77'), Oulare (Josico 59'). 5-3-2.

Team changes: Bilbao: Yeste, Joseba Etxeberria for Roberto Rios, Alkiza / Las Palmas: Alvaro for Jaime Molina.

Goals:
0-1. 09. Guayre. Rounded keeper after Oulare flicked on Alvaro's through ball.
0-2. 58. Alvaro. Header on far post after cross from Pablo Lago down right.
0-3. 93. Josico. Looping header over keeper after Edu Alonso centred from right.

It is very difficult to say what is happening to Athletic Bilbao this season. All the chemistry is there for them to have one of their best seasons for a while, with a new manager Txetxu Rojo who is a lifelong supporter of the club fresh from a successful year with Zaragoza, and the return to form (and favour) of their international stars Julen Guerrero and Ismael Urzaiz. They also don't have European competitions to worry about, so they have a clear advantage over the other top teams in the country. So why do they lose matches like this so badly? Having won their first two matches at home against Barcelona and Mallorca, and with Joseba Etxeberria returning to the side after injury, they should have dominated an inexperienced Las Palmas side who have struggled since their return to the top flight this season.

But that was not the case, with Las Palmas crushing the Lions with a three goal victory which takes them over Bilbao in the league and in to tenth place. True the visiting manager Sergio Kresic has turned things around since changing to a formation with five at the back, and true he had Brazilian Olympic games defender Alvaro available for the first time since he joined the club after his transfer papers finally came thorugh. However he was missing three of his top players through injury, Jarni, Eloy and Jaime Molina, and he included youngsters Angel, Jorge and Guayre in the team for the second match in a row. Guayre in particular had featured in the newspapers midweek with his controversial declarations that he thought that Alkorta, Rios and company were slow, but he proved his point in the tenth minute when he drifted past the defence to open the scoring. Bilbao came back but González and his defence held, and Samways tested Lafuente with a shot near half time.

Alvaro added the second on his debut with a header after a cross from Pablo Lago. However Nigerian striker Oulare landed badly jumping for the same ball, and had to go off with an ankle injury. That brought on Josico in his place, and after a seven-pass move involving half the team in injury time which culminated in a cross by ex Bilbao player Edu Alonso, the midfielder completed the humiliation with a looping header over Lafuente. The few fans who had stayed on applauded the Las Palmas players off the pitch, saving the boos, whistles and white handkerchiefs for their own players. Rojo now has to sort his side out, particularly in the double pivot defensive midfield position, where he tried out his fourth combination of the season this week, Urrutia and Yeste. If he gets it right, they should move back into contention. Right now it is Las Palmas who are on a high.