Atlético Madrid Faces Heavy Loss Against Athletic Bilbao

Atlético Madrid walked out of San Mamés bruised and beaten, undone 3–0 by Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of the Spanish league season. The scoreline told its own story, but the first half had teased something very different — especially for Lee Kang-in.

Lee Kang-in’s Near-Miss and Fading Influence

Given a starting berth in Bilbao, the South Korean midfielder tried to grab the game early. He found pockets of space, demanded the ball and almost changed the script with one swing of his right foot.

His best moment came when he cut inside and drove a low shot past the goalkeeper’s reach, only to see it crash against the post. It was Atlético’s second brush with the woodwork in a first half that hinted at promise but delivered no reward.

From there, his influence waned. As the match grew more frantic and Athletic tightened their grip, Lee saw less of the ball, struggled to impose himself, and was withdrawn in the 58th minute.

Spanish outlet El Desmarque handed him a rating of 5, noting his energetic start and composure in the move that ended with his shot against the post, but underlining how his impact faded as the game slipped away.

Collapse After the Break

The warning signs had been there. Atlético had twice rattled the frame of the goal before the interval but failed to make it count. After the restart, they paid for it.

Defensive errors opened the door for Athletic, and the home side barged straight through. Three goals after the break turned a tight contest into a rout, with Atlético’s back line repeatedly exposed and unable to recover.

What had begun as a night of near-misses for the visitors ended as a harsh lesson.

Player Ratings: Few Bright Spots for Atlético

El Desmarque’s ratings underlined the imbalance in Atlético’s display.

• Marc Pubill, Morten Hjulmand, Pablo Barrios and Álex Baena received the highest marks in the team, each given a 6. Pubill was praised for his defensive work in the first half, Hjulmand and Barrios for their steady presence in midfield, and Baena for at least trying to threaten with his shooting.
• At the other end of the scale, Jan Oblak and Álex Grimaldo were both marked down with a 3. Oblak, according to the report, did not register a single save on the night, while Grimaldo struggled badly in his duel with Robert Navarro.
• Ademola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone were also rated 3, reflecting a blunt attacking edge, with Marcos Llorente slightly better at 4.
• Cristian Romero, making his Atlético debut after coming off the bench, earned a 5, the same mark given to Julián Álvarez — both showing flashes but unable to alter a match that had already tilted decisively towards Athletic.

For Atlético, the numbers on the page matched the feeling on the pitch: a night when the post, the errors and the ratings all pointed in the same direction — there is work to do.