Athletic Club rout abject Atleti to hand Madrid club first defeat of campaign

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atl-madrid/jaarqpLQ/"]Atletico Madrid[/a] made a bright start as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lee-kangin/YTVIJfxO/"]Lee Kang-In[/a] showcased his excellent technique and close control, weaving his way through the defence before firing from inside the box. His effort, however, drifted narrowly wide of the left post.[/p][p]But the Rojiblancos were fortunate to survive a dangerous spell as they struggled to deal with a couple of deflections around the edge of the box. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sancet-ohian/hpZLKZVC/"]Oihan Sancet[/a] pounced on a loose ball and fired towards the near post, but his effort found the side netting.[/p][p]Soon after, Atletico were back on the offensive when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/baena-alex/bmeQTB92/"]Alex Baena[/a] picked up a pass in a promising position and tried his luck from mid-range, aiming for the roof of the net. [/p][image alt="Athletic Club - Atletico Madrid match momentum" id="54261913-b507-4236-8b07-5b00c2247bc0" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="abe99583-6fd8-45a9-952d-36979831763c" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simon-unai/Ao9Vw3hi/"]Unai Simon[/a] was alert to the attempt, though, making a comfortable save to deny him. Lee also threatened again, taking a neat pass and dummying a defender before slamming the ball well wide of the left post from the edge of the box.[/p][p]Although Atlético might have felt comparatively more aggrieved to find themselves goalless at the break, there was nothing that could excuse their total meltdown early in the second half.[/p][p][b]Firstly, the visitors’ defence failed to deal with an [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-inaki/W4HzaGVn/"]Inaki Williams[/a] curler that his brother, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-nico/Cp7lcVjJ/"]Nico Williams[/a], headed in at close range.[/b][/p][p][b]And after the strike survived a VAR check for an out-of-play ball in the build-up, the elder Williams was at it again almost immediately, picking up a slick pass from his brother to play a through-ball into the box, where Robert Navarro curled into the far corner for his second goal of the season.[/b][/p][p]With Athletic having won six of their previous nine home meetings against Atletico before kick-off, the visitors were now experiencing a very familiar sinking feeling, and their play became distinctly flat compared to the first half.[/p][p]That said, they could have halved the deficit on 70’, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-julian/bBHauDIC/"]Julian Alvarez[/a] found space to drive low towards the bottom-right corner, only for Unai Simón to tip the ball around the post with a reflex save.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="b8cad619-38da-4ef0-9458-eb3e7ca8c6cd" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0f53eed9-44a0-439d-8607-97a07ac5b58c" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p][b]Although there were some promising runs down Athletic’s left flank in the latter minutes, it was from the right that the third arrived in the final minute of normal time. A ball over the top found [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gerenabarrena-benat/n582xEOb/"]Benat Gerenabarrena[/a], whose ball across the area was missed by two grey shirts and tapped in by Sancet.[/b][/p][p]With this victory, the hosts moved up to eighth place in resounding style, while putting a miserable Atlético team at risk of losing further ground on their traditional title rivals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a].[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/navarro-robert/6k2jV1mo/"]Robert Navarro[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ath-bilbao/IP5zl0cJ/"]Athletic Club[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ath-bilbao-IP5zl0cJ/atl-madrid-jaarqpLQ/summary/stats/?mid=xS7XRdCk"]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p]