Athletic - Elche C. F.: Guruzeta’s late penalty flips momentum as Athletic extend winning run and tighten European hopes

The immediate effect is clear: Athletic’s morale and league momentum have a visible lift after a 2-1 victory in Athletic - Elche C. F., while Elche’s slide deepens, remaining without a win in eight matches and perilously close to the drop zone. This match reshapes short-term objectives for both clubs — Athletic push on with a three-game league streak, and Elche faces mounting pressure to stop the rot.

What this run changes for Athletic and the pressure on Elche

Guruzeta’s brace — his second in three matches — has consequences beyond the scoreboard. For Athletic, the consecutive wins represent their first run of three straight league victories since August, a sequence that revives confidence and strengthens their positioning for a push toward European qualification. For Elche, the outcome is another agonizing setback that leaves them just a single point above relegation territory, intensifying the urgency around results and decision-making.

• Gorka Guruzeta netted two goals in the second half to complete the comeback and clinch victory.
• Elche converted a penalty through André Silva after a retake caused by a double touch, temporarily leveling the score.
• The decisive penalty for Athletic was given after a review and converted in the 89th minute, provoking controversy and strong reactions from the visiting side.
• Athletic registered a third straight league win; Elche has now gone eight matches without a victory and sits 16th in the table, one point above the drop zone.

Athletic - Elche C. F.: match essentials and sequence (concise)

The defining moments came in the second half: Guruzeta opened the scoring at San Mamés with a composed finish from a Yuri Berchiche cross, and later the Elche striker André Silva converted a spot-kick after an initial attempt required repetition due to a double touch. The match was ultimately decided by an 89th-minute penalty awarded after a review; Guruzeta stepped up and converted to complete his brace and hand Athletic the 2-1 win. The late nature of the winner left Elche with little time to respond and intensified the sense of frustration for the visitors.

Here’s the part that matters for calendar and morale: Athletic have now stitched together three straight league victories for the first time since August, while Guruzeta has now produced two multi-goal games in a short span, including a previous double that helped a 4-2 victory over Levante on Feb. 8.

What's easy to miss is how quickly small refereeing moments and retaken penalties reshaped momentum; a single VAR review and a mandated retake produced two very different outcomes in a short window.

The real question now is how both clubs respond over the coming fixtures. Athletic need to convert confidence into consistency to sustain a European push, while Elche must halt an eight-game winless run before the gap to the relegation zone becomes harder to bridge.

Key signals that will clarify the next phase: improved finishing and defensive solidity for Athletic across successive matches; for Elche, breaking the winless streak and stabilizing results to secure safety. These are the concrete indicators that will confirm whether this match proves to be a turning point or another moment in a longer trend.

Micro timeline: Feb. 8 — Guruzeta scored a brace in a 4-2 win over Levante; this match — Guruzeta scored twice again, including an 89th-minute penalty that sealed Athletic’s 2-1 victory; the team now has three straight league wins, the first such run since August.

Editor’s aside: The bigger signal here is how individual moments — a repeated penalty, a VAR referral, a nervy late spot-kick — can alter trajectories for two clubs moving in opposite directions.