MADRID (AP) — Iñigo Martínez scored from a free kick to help Athletic Bilbao win 3-1 in Valladolid in the Spanish League, the same day the veteran defender was called up to the Spanish team again.
Martínez took his free kick over the wall to open the scoring after half an hour.
He was included in the first call of the Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente, announced hours before the game. The centre-back played for Spain until June, before former national team manager Luis Enrique left him out for the World Cup.
Gorka Guruzeta scored the second goal with a pass from Óscar de Marcos in the 57th minute and Mikel Vesga converted a penalty in the 78th minute.
Cyle Larin scored Valladolid’s goal in the 74th minute, the fifth goal since the Canadian striker joined the team in January.
Bilbao put an end to a streak of five games without a win. After an international break, Bilbao will have another league game, before facing Osasuna on April 4 in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal. Osasuna took a 1-0 lead in the first leg.
“We had been looking for this win for a while, we needed it to get out of the bad streak,” said Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde. “We knew it was an important game to turn this around.” Bilbao was placed in seventh position. Valladolid remains in 14th place.
