It all changed after the break
Athletic Bilbao beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 on Saturday in La Liga round four. The final score tells you nothing about the first half, which was tight, short on space and finished 0-0 with precious little in the way of clear chances.
The game flipped instantly after the interval. Nico Williams opened the scoring in the 46th minute. Two minutes later, Robert Navarro made it two from an Iñaki Williams assist. In 120 seconds, the Basques turned a match Atletico had controlled up to that point on its head.
Oihan Sancet added a third in stoppage time, in the 90th minute, to make the result look as decisive as it felt.
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The Williams brothers were at the heart of it
One detail stands out: the first two goals came from the same family duo. Nico scored, Iñaki laid on the next one. The brothers carved out the gap Atletico never managed to close.
After the hour mark, Diego Simeone’s side offered nothing going forward. They let Bilbao press high and win the ball back up the pitch, without ever finding a clean way out.
A strong statement for what’s next
For Athletic, this win backs up a strong start and confirms that San Mames is becoming a miserable place to visit again. Three goals against one of the league’s heavyweights, while keeping a clean sheet, does not happen every week.
For Atletico, the warning lights are on. The Madrid club has taken a heavy defeat at a time when the attacking patterns still look half-baked, and the Julian Alvarez situation continues to hog its share of the spotlight. Simeone now has a second half to explain.
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