Las Palmas picked up a point in San Mamés and continued their surge back up the table. Paco Jémez put out the same side that won against Málaga. In San Mamés, against Athletic Club de Bilbao, they needed to continue playing with the confidence and the playing style set out by the manager with their latest signings. Las Palmas are now playing as a unit with the good work by Peñalba, Etebo and Aguirregaray.
UD Las Palmas matched Athletic Club for effort. The game looked as if it would be a physical encounter, and it was. The home team took the initiative in the first half. The yellows were able to attack the area defended by Kepa on occasions, but the final pass was lacking. Jonathan Viera nearly made the score 0-1 before half time, but his long-range effort flew narrowly over the bar after being played in by Tana. The only chance of note for the home team was a long-range shot by Raúl García.
The game was being dominated by the centre halves. Yeray was able to contain Calleri, while Ximo Navarro did the same with Aduriz, as they became the couple to most trouble the referee. Athletic tried to capitalize on the timid efforts by Las Palmas to move the ball forward. Half time came with no score. Jémez reshuffled his bench after just half an hour was up, bringing on Tana in place of Hernán Toledo, in a tactical move.
The second half saw Athletic Club show more muscle than football, as they looked to play more direct. Las Palmas tried to attack on the break, and in a one on one with the goalkeeper, in the 60th minute, Nacho Gil’s shot was saved by Arizabalaga. Athletic took a long time to penetrate their rival’s area. In the 77th minute Aduriz headed a free kick wide of the post. Las Palmas tightened up in defence to hold on to a precious point, showing up the home team’s failings who were upsetting their crowd by constantly giving the ball away. Chichizola saved his team by blocking a shot by Williams with his feet (min. 87) as well as another shot by Beñat (min. 90). In the end, Las Palmas came away with a valuable point who can still dream of escaping the drop, having held on to a draw against Athletic Club de Bilbao.
