Cordoba staring down the barrel after Athletic Bilbao loss

Time is running out for Cordoba to retain their La Liga status after they were beaten 1-0 at home by Athletic Bilbao this evening.

Benat Etxebarria's 56th-minute goal at Estadio Nuevo Arcangel leaves the basement side eight points adrift of safety with five games of the season remaining.

Cordoba had the first clear chance of the match when Fede Cartabia's close-range shot was blocked by Aymeric Laporte on 26 minutes.

Goalkeeper Juan Carlos, who put in a man-of-the-match display to earn them a 0-0 draw with Villarreal last weekend, produced a diving save to deny Mikel San Jose and ensure that his side were level at the break.

Bilbao scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes into the second half as San Jose released Etxebarria to shoot inside the post from the edge of the area.

Cordoba had 22 attempts on goal and superior possession, but Fidel, Rene Krhin and Florin Andone missed their best equalising chances as their winless run was stretched to 15 matches.