Athletic Bilbao moved to within a point of La Liga's top six with a fine victory in an intensely-disputed northern derby.

Carlos Gurpegui gave the visitors the lead after half an hour and Andoni Iraola added a second from the penalty spot 15 minutes from time to seal a second consecutive win for the Basques, who looked to be somewhere close to the form which saw them win their first three league matches this season.

That brilliant start had seen Joaquin Caparros' side level at the top of the table with Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But they picked up just one point from their next five matches to slip into the bottom half.

A fortuitous 1-0 win at home to Atletico Madrid last weekend stopped that miserable run and Athletic were keen to build on that success with another victory at struggling Racing.

The Cantabrians began the day above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, having won just once all season, and it was not hard to see why they were down there as this game kicked off.

The game was disputed at a fierce pace from the outset, but Racing's passing left much to be desired in the early stages.

The first real chance fell to Athletic, but Tono easily saved Oscar De Marcos' tame shot after nine minutes.

At the other end, Racing had to wait until almost the half-hour mark for their first opportunity of note, when Luis Garcia forced Gorka Iraizoz into a smart save with a venomous angled drive.

But two minutes later, they were behind, when Gurpegui crashed a powerful header past Tono from Xabier Castillo's free-kick.

Pablo Orbaiz's corner then fooled Tono and rebounded off the woodwork to safety.

Racing missed a great chance to equalise before the break, but Mohamed Tchite's weak shot was easily saved by Iraizoz.

The Burundi forward should have done better and a goal at that stage would have been a huge psychological boost for the home side.

But Athletic stayed in front and looked by far the better side after the break.

De Marcos twice tested Tono, but the Racing keeper made two great saves to keep his side in the match.

However, the Alicante-born stopper could do nothing to prevent Athletic from going two up with a quarter of an hour left, when Iraola converted from the spot after Mehdi Racen had hacked down Ion Velez.

It was all over as a contest following that strike and Racing remain in trouble at the wrong end of the table, with only Atletico Madrid's 3-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid yesterday keeping them out of the drop zone.

Athletic, meanwhile, are now in eighth spot, a point behind sixth-placed Mallorca with just over a quarter of the season gone.