VIDEO: Athletic Bilbao's Benat scores 25-yard free-kick at Partizan
Srdjan Stevanovic / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It's beginning to look like 2011-12.
Athletic Bilbao, who reached the final of the Europa League over three years ago, produced yet another convincing display in the competition on Thursday, manufacturing a 2-0 victory at Partizan to snatch the top spot in Group L.
In a moment that served as a microcosm of Athletic's outstanding display, Benat Etxebarria put the fixture out of reach in the 85th minute, launching a precision-perfect free-kick past the outstretched fingertips of 'keeper Zivko Zivkovic.
Benat's sublime execution marked only the third Europa League goal to come directly off a free-kick.
3 - Beñat is the third player to have scored a direct free kick goal in the #UEL this season (following Schöne and Trochowski). Sniper
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 22, 2015
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