Athletic Bilbao stave off Villarreal fightback to go 5th

Athletic Bilbao rose to fifth in La Liga with a dramatic 3-2 win at lowly Villarreal on Sunday.

Brothers Nico and Inaki Williams struck for Ernesto Valverde's side in the first half after Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta opened the scoring, as the visitors cruised.

It seemed they were on their way to an easy victory, but Gerard Moreno pulled one back after 86 minutes and Alexander Sorloth headed home immediately after to set up a nail-biting finale.

Athletic could have made sure of their win on the break but Filip Jorgensen saved well from Unai Gomez in stoppage time.

Despite their late show of spirit and the talent at their disposal, Pacheta's Villarreal have won just one of their last seven league games and sit provisionally 13th, five points above the relegation zone.

"The first half was so weak, we cannot play like that," Moreno told Movistar.

"We had high hopes but, in the end, when you let in three goals at home, it's tough."

Athletic are four points behind Atletico Madrid, who lost Friday at Las Palmas.

Later on Sunday, second-placed Real Madrid host Rayo Vallecano and will be looking to catch up with league leaders Girona.

Elsewhere Valencia snatched a 1-0 win over Granada with a contentious penalty scored by Pepelu, while Alaves beat winless Almeria, bottom, by the same scoreline.