Athletic Bilbao peg back Real Betis

Real Betis dropped more home points tonight as Athletic Bilbao held the La Liga high-fliers to a 1-1 draw at Benito Villamarin.

The hosts could have moved to within three points of Real Madrid in third with victory tonight and Ruben Castro put them on their way with his second-minute opener.

Bilabo keeper Gorka Iraizoz hauled down Salva Sevilla inside the box and Castro stepped up to convert from the spot for his 12th goal of the season.

The opening half-hour was end-to-end and Ander Herrera nearly levelled the scores when his low drive forced Adrian into a fine stop.

Another Herrera effort, which drifted wide of the post, came minutes before their equaliser, which came courtesy of Aritz Aduriz.

The Spanish forward collected a precise Herrera pass and dinked the ball over the onrushing Adrian to give Bilbao half-time parity.

Athletic had several chances in the second period and could have snatched maximum points late on when Adrian superbly denied Oscar de Marcos a stoppage-time winner.

Betis remain in fourth, but have now won fewer than half of their home matches.