Oihan Sancet scored a stunning hat-trick to lift Athletic Bilbao to a 3-0 victory over Girona on Saturday, further solidifying their push for a Champions League spot.
The win at San Mames moved Bilbao into fourth place, just one point behind third-placed Barcelona, who are set to face Sevilla on Sunday.
Sancet opened the scoring with a controversial penalty before adding a second just before halftime. He completed his hat-trick late in the match, securing his side’s 14th consecutive unbeaten game in La Liga.
With the win, Athletic Bilbao are now seven points ahead of Villarreal, who are in fifth and face Las Palmas later on Saturday.
In another match, Antony netted his first goal for Real Betis since joining on loan from Manchester United in January. However, his goal wasn’t enough to prevent Betis from collapsing to a 3-2 defeat to Celta Vigo. Antony broke the deadlock with a fine finish, and Diego Llorente doubled Betis’ lead, but Celta Vigo mounted a spirited second-half comeback, with goals from Fran Beltran, Javier Rodriguez, and Williot Swedberg securing the victory.