Madrid, Jan. 31 -- Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad both had good nights in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday as they achieved their respective objectives from the group stage.
Athletic secured a 3-1 home victory over Czech side Viktoria Plzen, ensuring they finished second in the 36-team group and qualified directly for the last 16.
Nico Williams opened the scoring after a pass from his brother Inaki Williams in the 25th minute, and Yeray Alvarez headed them into a 2-0 lead 20 minutes into the second half.
A counter-attack from Plzen caught Athletic flat-footed and Milan Havel got them back into the game with a smart finish in the 71st minute, but substitute Daniel Vasulin's red card for a bad challenge on Oscar de Marcos in the la...