Ghana striker Inaki Williams reached a new milestone as the joint top scorer in the Basque Derby in the 21st century after netting a brace in Athletic Bilbao’s 2-0 La Liga win over rivals Real Sociedad.
The two sides have often made home advantage count when they clashed in recent times, and Athletic did at San Mames with Williams scoring in either half.
Williams first scored in the 33rd minute, drilling in a shot from close range he initially failed to control before unleashing a powerful shot from a tight angle that found its way into the bottom right corner of the net.
7 – Top scorers in derbies between @Athletic_en and @RealSociedadEN in @LaLigaEN in the 21st century:
7 – Nihat Kahveci (Real Sociedad) ????????
7 – IÑAKI WILLIAMS (Athletic Club) ????????
6 – Iker Muniain (Athletic Club) ????????Lion. https://t.co/lGkjIWAm43
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 15, 2023
Williams brace took him to seven goals in the Basque Derby which is the most of any player since the year 2000 alongside retired Turkish footballer Nihat Kahveci who played for Real Sociedad between 2002 and 2006.
He is also the first Athletic player to score a Basque Derby brace since Markel Susaeta in March 2012.
The 28-year-old now has six La Liga goals this season in 26 outings, added with two assists. Overall he has seven goals and four assists in all competitions.
2 – Iñaki Williams is the first @Athletic_en ????⚪️ player to score a brace in a @LaLigaEN derby against @RealSociedadEN ????⚪️ since Markel Susaeta in March 2012.
Selected. pic.twitter.com/N28kxSQEZC
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 15, 2023
Since making his Athletic debut in 2014, Williams has scored 82 goals and provided 51 assists in 372 appearances. He famously started 251 consecutive games which ran from April 2016 till January 2023.
Bilbao currently sit in seventh place in La Liga, eight points behind Sociedad who occupy the final Champions League qualification spot.
