Deportivo La Coruña Vs. Athletic Bilbao: 2-1 Full Time, Depor Out Of Drop Zone

Before tonight’s La Liga clash, Deportivo La Coruña were 18th in the league, facing relegation. They’re still very much in the relegation race, but they’ve taken one step towards safety, as they pulled off an upset win at home against Athletic Bilbao, whose chances at European competition will have been seriously hurt by this loss.

Things looked good at the start for Athletic Bilbao, as they scored the opener after just three minutes through Gaizka Toquero. While he’s known more for his work rate than his goal scoring, Toquero showed his striker’s instincts by being in the right place at the right time to finish a chance off a ball from Andoni Iraola.

Depor turned it around quickly, though, and Adrián scored the equalizer in the 22nd minute on a corner kick. Eventually, Depor would find their winner, and it would once again from a set piece. On a free kick, Bilbao’s Xabier Castillo had to endure the shame of putting in an own goal, and his error ultimately eliminated his team mathematically from Champions League contention while giving Depor a result they desperately needed.

Due to the extremely tight nature of La Liga’s relegation race, Depor are now 14th in the league on 42 points, while all of their competitors have one game in hand. Bilbao are still in a Europa League position, but Atletico Madrid have an opportunity to displace them.