athletic vs atlético madrid: Athletic beat Atleti 3-0
Ended in a 3-0 defeat for Diego Simeone’s side in Bilbao, with Julián Álvarez introduced after halftime and Jonathan David left out of the squad. Marcos…
athletic vs atlético madrid ended with a shock 3-0 defeat for Diego Simeone’s team at San Mamés, where Athletic Club scored three times and left Atlético Madrid with their first loss of the season. Julián Álvarez came on in the second half, but he could not change the game after the visitors had already fallen behind.
The result matters beyond one afternoon in Bilbao. Atlético began the match without a recognised centre-forward in the starting XI, and the visit turned quickly once Athletic struck twice in two minutes. Jonathan David, who arrived on loan on deadline day, was unused on the bench.
Álvarez arrives, but the damage is done
Atlético started with Álex Baena and Kang-in Lee as their most attack-minded players before Álvarez was introduced with just over half an hour remaining. By then, the game had already tilted hard in Athletic’s favor.
Nico Williams opened the scoring in the 46th minute, Robert Navarro added another in the 48th, and Oihan Sancet finished the job late on. That brief spell changed everything. Two minutes. Three goals stayed out of reach, and Atlético never recovered.
Marcos Llorente told ESPN that Atlético need Álvarez to start scoring. “He [Julián] is a very important player for us,” Llorente said. “He knows it. He'll come in little by little, and the sooner the better, because we need his goals. We have to support him so he's at 100% soon.”
That assessment matched what Atlético saw on the pitch. Álvarez showed flashes, according to defender Dávid Hancko, but the team lacked the sharpness to turn those moments into a comeback. Hancko told ESPN: “You could see [Álvarez] was doing well, he wanted to take [the game] on himself,” and added that the forward produced “sparks” when he turned and shot with his left foot.
Jonathan David’s absence adds another layer
The match also raised questions around Atlético’s attacking options. ESPN reported that Jonathan David was not in the matchday squad after the deadline-day loan signing was expected to make his first call-up. Yahoo Sports later reported that the player woke up with a severe cervical contracture and was not fit to be available despite receiving medical treatment.
That left Simeone with a thinner attacking setup than the club expected for a game of this size. He had to chase a match in Bilbao without the forward presence Atlético planned for, and Athletic punished the gap early in the second half.
For Atlético, the defeat was not just about one bad night. It exposed how quickly the side can be stretched when the central striker plan shifts, and how much they are already leaning on Álvarez to settle in and deliver goals. ESPN also noted that Jonathan David’s move came after Atlético refused to negotiate a deal for his “dream” club Barcelona, adding more attention to how the club manages its new attack.
Hancko’s line captured the mood inside the squad after the final whistle. “You could say we lost it in 120 seconds,” he told ESPN.
