Williams Brothers Ignite San Mames in Athletic Bilbao's 3-0 Victory
Nico Williams lit up San Mames and ripped open Atletico Madrid’s resistance in the space of a breathless minute, driving Athletic Bilbao to a statement 3-0 win and their second La Liga victory of the season.
On a night when the old stadium felt like it was vibrating, the Williams brothers took control of the game – and, for a crucial spell after the break, they took apart Diego Simeone’s side.
Williams brothers ignite San Mames
The breakthrough came from family instinct. Early in the second half, Inaki Williams let fly from the edge of the box. His effort was diverted into the penalty area, and Nico reacted first, darting into space and rising to guide a header past the helpless goalkeeper.
San Mames exploded. Nico’s celebration carried more than simple relief: this was his first league goal since May, when he struck twice against Alaves. The wait had been long. The response was ruthless.
Atletico barely had time to reset.
Seconds after the restart, Athletic sprang forward again. Nico surged into open grass, Inaki peeled away with him, and the brothers combined at speed on a devastating counter. This time Nico turned provider, helping carve open a scrambling Atletico back line before Robert Navarro arrived to sweep in the second.
Two goals in a minute. Simeone’s team stunned. San Mames roaring.
From there, the match tilted firmly in Athletic’s favour. Confidence surged through Edin Terzic’s side, the kind that comes when a game plan starts to look like a blueprint rather than a theory.
Terzic’s touch and a bold tactical shift
Nico did not hide where he felt the turning point lay. He pointed straight to the dressing room and to the man in charge.
“The manager we have is spectacular, and you can see it on the pitch,” he said afterwards. “He’s instilled many new things in us that we’re grasping perfectly.”
The winger underlined the impact of Terzic’s half-time intervention.
“In the second half, he really got us into the game with a great talk in the locker room,” Nico added. “We’re very happy with the manager’s style of play.”
Terzic’s influence went beyond words. Athletic adjusted smartly as the match developed, especially after an early scare when Kang-In Lee clipped the post and reminded the home side how thin the margins can be against elite opposition.
As Atletico searched for a way back, Terzic responded by switching to a back three in the second half, a calculated move to neutralise Simeone’s tactical tweaks and close down the spaces his forwards were beginning to probe. The change stiffened Athletic’s structure and allowed their wing-backs and wide players to break with conviction.
The German coach liked what he saw.
“I see a team that’s always ready to fight for victory,” Terzic said. “For me, the most important thing has been how we reacted... we showed real courage.”
That courage ran through the entire performance: from riding out the early warning when Lee hit the woodwork to tightening their grip on the game once they had Atletico on the ropes.
Sancet seals it, belief builds
As the clock wound down and the visitors pushed bodies forward, gaps began to appear. Athletic, now playing with authority, picked their moment.
Oihan Sancet stepped up late on to add the third, a goal that didn’t just finish the contest but underlined the gulf on the night. By then, San Mames was in full celebration, the crowd sensing a team growing into a new identity under Terzic.
The coach, for his part, made a point of saluting the supporters, acknowledging how their noise and intensity had helped carry the players through the early wobble and into a dominant second half.
For Nico, the victory carried extra weight. Coming on the back of a recent away win, these three points felt like confirmation rather than a surprise, a sign that the ideas Terzic is drilling into the squad are starting to stick.
The win delivers back-to-back league successes and valuable momentum as Athletic look to climb steadily up the table and shed the inconsistency that has dogged recent seasons.
There is no time to linger on the celebrations. Terzic has already turned the page, pointing the squad toward Saturday’s league clash with Elche CF. If nights like this become a habit at San Mames, the question won’t be whether Athletic can compete – it will be just how far this team, and this manager, can push the ceiling.
