Atlético Madrid Suffers 0–3 Defeat to Athletic Bilbao
Atlético Madrid walked out of San Mamés with a bruising 0–3 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of La Liga, on a night when early promise collapsed into defensive chaos.
Lee Kang-in, handed a start for the visitors, offered one of the few bright sparks before fading with the rest of the side.
A game that turned on the woodwork
For half an hour, Atlético looked alive. They moved the ball with purpose, pressed with energy and, crucially, carved out chances.
Lee produced the moment that almost changed the tone of the night. Cutting inside, he unleashed a right-footed strike that beat the goalkeeper but crashed against the post. It was the closest Atlético came to a breakthrough, and one of two first-half efforts that rattled the woodwork.
Those missed inches would haunt them.
After the interval, the game flipped. Athletic Bilbao punished a series of defensive lapses, scoring three times as Atlético’s back line lost its shape and composure. What had been a tight contest turned into a one-sided scoreline, with individual errors feeding the home side’s momentum.
Lee’s influence fades
Lee Kang-in, so involved early on, could not sustain that impact. His touches were clean, his movement sharp, and his control in the build-up to the shot off the post underlined his technical quality. But as Bilbao seized control of midfield and Atlético’s structure disintegrated, his presence on the ball dwindled.
He was withdrawn in the 58th minute, his night summed up by that agonising clatter off the upright.
Spanish outlet El Desmarque rated his performance a 5, highlighting his bright start and composure in the key attacking moment, but underlining the way his influence drifted as the match slipped away from Atlético.
Mixed report card for Atlético
The ratings across the Atlético squad painted a blunt picture of a team split between early resilience and second-half collapse.
- Marc Pubill, Morten Hjulmand, Pablo Barrios and Álex Baena received the highest marks in the side, each given a 6 by El Desmarque. Pubill was recognised for his defensive work in the first half, while Hjulmand and Barrios earned praise for their steady presence in midfield. Baena, for his part, was credited for at least trying to threaten with his shooting.
- At the other end of the scale, some of Atlético’s biggest names endured a torrid evening. Jan Oblak and Álex Grimaldo were both handed a 3. The rating reflected a brutal statistic for Oblak: he did not register a single save. Grimaldo, meanwhile, struggled badly in his duel with Robert Navarro, losing key battles down his flank.
- Ademola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone also came away with 3s, their attacking efforts blunted and their impact minimal as the match ran away from Atlético. Marcos Llorente fared only slightly better with a 4, a mark that mirrored a performance of effort without end product.
- There were more neutral notes. Cristian Romero, making his Atlético debut after coming off the bench, received a 5, matching the rating given to Julián Álvarez. Both showed glimpses without being able to drag the game back from the brink.
A night of posts, errors and missed chances, then. For Atlético, the question now is whether this is a sharp jolt in September or an early warning of deeper structural problems in a long La Liga campaign.
