Ten-man Eibar fall to a 2-0 loss at Alavés in the Basque derby

Eibar were beaten 2-0 in Saturday’s Basque derby against Deportivo Alavés, as a pair of goals from Asier Villalibre earned the home side the win, after what had been a great first-half performance from Eibar.

Gaizka Garitano's side took to the field with the aim of securing three points from this Basque derby and Los Armeros immediately created a chance, but the home side's defence managed to deny Rahmani, as the Eibar winger's effort was cleared off the line in the opening minute.

Possession of the ball alternated between the teams during the first half, with dangerous chances in both areas. Eibar had a double chance, the clearest of the first half, when a shot from Matheus that was heading for the back of the net was blocked by Yannis, before Imanol's subsequent attempt failed to find the target.

It was a high-tempo first half, one in which both teams tried to take the initiative and one in which both penalty areas hosted goalscoring chances. However, neither side had any luck in front of goal and the first half ended goalless.

After the restart, Eibar continued to dominate up until Sergio Álvarez was shown a straight red card in the 57th minute, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Once Eibar were a man down, they then conceded to the home side in the 70th minute as Villalibre headed in.

Despite that setback, Garitano’s men didn’t give up and kept pushing for an equaliser. Stoichkov had the clearest chance to pull the team level, shortly after Alavés had scored, but his shot from a Javi Muñoz ball missed the target.

With just a few minutes remaining, Alavés were then able to score another for the 2-0 final scoreline. Again, it was Villalibre who netted for the home side, sealing the result that snapped Eibar’s good run of form.

Gaizka Garitano's side, who had played a great first half, were heavily punished in this game and, ultimately, left Mendizorroza empty-handed.