Atletico Madrid just got absolutely smacked, falling 3-0 to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on a seriously miserable Saturday. This wasn’t just a loss, it was their first defeat of the season, and it came after a performance that had coach Diego Simeone shaking his head at what happened in the second half.
Two Minutes of Absolute Chaos Wrecks Atletico
The first half actually had some promise for Atletico. Lee Kang-In had a shot clatter off the post in the third minute, and Pablo Barrios hit the post again before the break. Unai Simon, Bilbao’s keeper, even had to save a shot from Alex Baena. They were creating chances, but couldn’t convert. Then the second half started, and everything went sideways in a blink. The Williams brothers hooked up for Bilbao’s first goal when Inaki’s deflected shot found Nico Williams, who headed it home in the 46th minute. Before Atletico could even catch their breath, Robert Navarro steered home a pass from Inaki Williams two minutes later, making it 2-0. Pablo Barrios was right when he told Movistar, “Their two goals, in the blink of an eye, did us a lot of damage.” Simeone himself admitted, “two minutes of inattention and poor decision-making in situations we should have handled better,” adding that “Bilbao capitalised on that lapse.” Ouch.
Want-Away Striker Can’t Spark a Comeback
Simeone tried to shake things up, sending in Julian Alvarez, the striker who reportedly wanted to leave for Barcelona this summer and was returning from illness. But man, it just didn’t work. Alvarez looked ineffective, struggled to get involved, and managed only one shot from the edge of the box, which Unai Simon saved comfortably. It was clear that Atletico lacked “everything that we had in the first” half, as Simeone put it. Bilbao’s Oihan Sancet rubbed salt in the wound, stroking home a loose ball after a blocked cross in the 90th minute to make it a resounding 3-0 victory for the Basque hosts at San Mames. For Bilbao, this was a massive turnaround, giving them back-to-back wins after losing their first two matches of the campaign under coach Edin Terzic. Terzic was understandably happy, saying, “It’s always good to win games, especially at home.”
What a brutal result for Simeone’s crew. They’ve got no time to sulk because Wednesday brings a massive test: a Champions League clash against Liverpool at Anfield. They need to find that fight they totally lacked in the second half, and fast, if they want to avoid another gut punch on the road.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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