Individual moments of quality see Athletic take the spoils
The Armeros almost staged a stirring comeback after having trailed 2-0, but the visitors ultimately slipped to defeat at San Mamés
Three moments of individual quality from Athletic Club were enough to tip this encounter in their favour, as the Bilbao outfit ran out 3-1 winners at San Mamés.
The Armeros dominated during several phases of the game, but the visitors failed to show a cutting edge, in stark contrast to Athletic who displayed a clinical streak to convert their chances.
In a keenly contested opening half, Ernesto Valverde's men took a 41st-minute lead through a sumptuous curling free-kick from Beñat Etxebarria, after Alejandro Gálvez had fouled Sabin Merino on the edge of the area.
The hosts looked the brighter of the sides after the restart and they put themselves into a commanding position on 54' when Iñaki Williams embarked on a scintillating run down the left flank which saw him get in behind the Eibar backline, before he outwitted Asier Riesgo in the one-on-one.
The game looked to be over by this stage, but Eibar didn't give in and kept believing in themselves and their chances of staging a comeback.
The visitors' persistence was duly rewarded on 70' when Pedro León picked out Takashi Inui at the far post and his cushioned header was met by the onrushing Sergi Enrich, who nodded home to halve the deficit.
Buoyed by their goal, the Armeros went on to enjoy their best spell of the game, as José Luis Mendilibar's charges pushed for an equaliser and forced Athletic to dig in to maintain their lead. Inui squandered an opportunity to have drawn his side level on 82' when he found himself clean through on Kepa Arrizabalaga after latching on to a Rubén Peña pass.
Eibar poured forward and kept probing right until the death, but this left them exposed at the back and Athletic capitalised in an injury time counter-attack in which Iker Muniain applied the finishing touch to a cross from debutant Asier Villalibre.
The Armeros battled hard and competed throughout, but they came up against an Athletic side whose star men showcased all of their quality to seal victory.