May 01, (THEWILL) – Atletico Madrid’s chances of finishing in the top four were dealt another blow, as they were defeated 2-0 by Athletic Bilbao at the San Makes Barria Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday.
The hosts justifiably took the lead after just eight minutes, despite the fact that the goal came through fortuitous circumstances, with Inaki Williams’ shot taking a nasty deflection off Mario Hermoso, leaving Jan Oblak helpless.
Inaki Williams came agonisingly close to scoring when his wicked cross cannoned off the post, but the visitors looked disjointed in the early stages and almost fell further down.
However, Atleti began to climb back into the game and Diego Simeone responded by modifying the tactics to a back four to counter his team’s disastrous start.
In the 43rd minute, Antoine Griezmann had their first attempt on target, though it was nothing more than a feeble header, and Yannick Carrasco came close after a lung-busting run.
A fantastic Griezmann free-kick that rattled the crossbar shortly after the restart almost brought the Frenchman’s wait for his first league goal since November to an end. But, it was not to be.
When Renan Lodi’s sloppy pass was intercepted by Iker Muniain, who drew a foul from Hector Herrera, referee Antonio Mateu pointed to the spot. Inaki Williams stepped up to calmly dispatch a Panenka penalty past Oblak, giving Atleti a mountain to climb.
The visitors responded by throwing numbers forward in a desperate attempt to save the game, but it was the home side who looked most likely to score their third goal on the counter-attack. But, there were no further goals before the final whistle.
With a game in hand, Atletico Madrid sits four points ahead of Real Betis in fifth position, while Bilbao moved to within a point of a Europa Conference League spot in eighth place.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
