Nico Williams scores in narrow Athletic Club loss to Mallorca

Spanish-Ghanaian winger Nico Williams scored but could not prevent Athletic Club from falling to a 3–2 defeat away to Mallorca in LaLiga.With his side trailing 2–1 in first-half stoppage time, Williams timed his run perfectly to meet Unai Gómez’s pass and drill home the equaliser, briefly restoring parity before the break.Athletic had earlier responded quickly to Vedat Muriqi’s opener through Gómez, only for the Mallorca striker to strike again and later complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot midway through the second half. Gorka Guruzeta’s goal shortly after Muriqi’s third set up a tense finish, but Ernesto Valverde’s team could not find a late leveller despite a flurry of pressure and 21 attempts on goal.Williams’s performance underlined his growing influence in 2025/26, taking him to 16 LaLiga appearances with 4 goals and 2 assists so far this season.Attention now turns to Europe, where Athletic Club travel to Italy to face Atalanta in the Champions League at New Balance Arena on Wednesday, 21 January, in a crucial knockout tie.