Álvarez Must Deliver After Atlético's Loss in Bilbao

Atlético Madrid walked into San Mamés unbeaten and left with a jolt that echoed all the way back to the capital. A 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao, their first loss of the season, exposed a soft underbelly and sharpened the focus on one man: Julián Álvarez.

Álvarez stays, but now he must deliver

The Argentine forward, kept at the club after Atlético refused to even open talks with Barcelona in the summer, finally saw his first minutes of the season on Saturday. He came on in the second half with his team already two goals down, asked to rescue a game that was slipping away fast. He couldn’t.

For Marcos Llorente, that has to change quickly.

“Julián is a decisive player for us, and he knows that well,” Llorente told ESPN. “He will gradually gel with the team, and the sooner the better because we desperately need his goals, and we must support him so he returns to his 100% level as soon as possible.”

The message was clear: the club fought to keep Álvarez. Now they need the version that finishes games, not just enters them.

No striker, no punch

Diego Simeone’s starting XI raised eyebrows. Atlético began without a recognised centre-forward, with Álex Baena and Kang-in Lee asked to carry the attacking threat. Jonathan David, signed on loan on the final day of the window, watched the entire match from the bench. Álvarez, their would-be reference point, only entered with just over half an hour left.

By then, the damage was already brutal and quick.

Two minutes after the restart, Atlético imploded. Nico Williams struck in the 46th minute, Robert Navarro in the 48th. Oihan Sancet later added a third to turn a controlled first half from Atlético into a humbling.

“You could say we lost the match in just 120 seconds,” defender Dávid 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.”

Llorente did not sugarcoat it either.

“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.”

Teammates rally around Álvarez

Inside the dressing room, there is no doubt about Álvarez’s importance. Hancko underlined just how much the squad believe in him.

“It was clear that he was in good shape and wanted to take responsibility and make a difference,” the defender 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, for now, are only that — glimpses. But Hancko’s verdict on the Argentine’s value was unequivocal.

“He makes a difference for us, and I am very happy that he stayed. The whole team supports him and stands behind him, we need him and I think he needs us too.”

The club blocked his exit. The squad have closed ranks around him. The expectation is now unmistakable: Álvarez must become the player who tips tight games, not one more option off the bench.

Anfield and beyond

There is no time for Atlético to lick their wounds. A brutal week looms. They fly to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Champions League, then head straight into a demanding La Liga trip to Real Sociedad.

The margin for another lapse like those 120 seconds in Bilbao is zero. And as the fixtures harden and the pressure rises, one question hangs over Atlético’s season: can Julián Álvarez start scoring quickly enough to turn a sobering early stumble into a launchpad, rather than a warning of something worse to come?