Atlético Madrid's Defeat in Bilbao: Llorente Urges Álvarez to Score Again
Atlético Madrid walked into San Mamés unbeaten and walked out with a jolt to the system, ripped apart 3-0 by Athletic Bilbao and left clinging to one clear idea: they need Julián Álvarez’s goals, and they need them fast.
This was supposed to be the night the Argentine quietly eased back into the rhythm of La Liga. Instead, he came on with his team two down, chasing shadows and a game that had already slipped away.
“It’s obvious we desperately need his goals,” Marcos Llorente told ESPN afterwards, cutting straight to the point. “Julián is a decisive player for us, and he knows that well. He will gradually gel with the team, and the sooner the better… we must support him so he returns to his 100% level as soon as possible.”
Álvarez’s appearance was loaded with context. It was his first outing since the transfer window slammed shut, after Atlético refused to even open talks with Barcelona and insisted he stay. No smooth transition, no gentle reintroduction – just half an hour to salvage a lost cause in one of the most hostile stadiums in Spain.
No striker, no punch
The warning signs were there from the start. Atlético lined up without a recognised centre-forward, Diego Simeone trusting Álex Baena and Kang-in Lee to carry the attacking threat. The experiment never really caught fire.
By the time Álvarez was thrown on, the damage was already unfolding. Jonathan David, signed on loan on deadline day and another potential solution up front, watched the entire debacle from the bench. On a night when Atlético badly needed a focal point, their two natural strikers played a combined 30-odd minutes – and one of them never even warmed up properly.
Still, Álvarez did not hide. Defender Dávid Hancko highlighted exactly that.
“It was clear that he was in good shape and wanted to take responsibility and make a difference,” Hancko said. “Of course, a striker loses some balls against defensive blocks, but we saw those attacking flashes when he turned and shot with his left foot.”
Those flashes were all Atlético had to cling to. No goal, no lifeline, but enough for Hancko to underline how important the forward remains in the dressing room.
“He makes a difference for us, and I am very happy that he stayed,” the defender added. “The whole team supports him and stands behind him, we need him and I think he needs us too.”
Two minutes of chaos
For all the talk of systems and selections, this game was decided in a brutal, dizzying spell right after the restart.
Atlético had reached half-time still alive. They had competed, they had structure, they had a platform. Then came 120 seconds that shredded all of it.
Nico Williams struck in the 46th minute. Robert Navarro followed in the 48th. Two quick, ruthless blows, and Atlético crumpled.
“You could say we lost the match in just 120 seconds,” Hancko admitted. “It was a very bad start to the second half, we lost concentration for two minutes and I don't know if we relaxed after the break. They were difficult moments, and perhaps it's good that this stumble happened early at the start of the season.”
The third goal, from Oihan Sancet late on, only confirmed what everyone in the stadium already knew: Atlético were beaten, mentally as much as on the scoreboard.
Llorente did not sugarcoat it.
“We threw the match away in the first five minutes of the second half,” he said. “Those five minutes killed our ambition and afterwards we couldn't impose pressure or score a goal to unsettle the opponent. This should not happen again because we produced a good first half, and we must correct the mistakes and study the reasons for what happened.”
The message was clear: the collapse was self-inflicted.
Anfield looming, pressure rising
There is no soft landing from a defeat like this. Atlético now head straight into one of the most unforgiving weeks of their season.
Next stop: Anfield, to face Liverpool in the Champions League, a stadium that punishes any hint of fragility. After that, a demanding La Liga trip to Real Sociedad.
Simeone needs his team to respond. He needs the concentration lapses erased. He needs the defensive steel restored.
Above all, as Llorente underlined, he needs Julián Álvarez to start looking like the forward Atlético fought to keep.
