Atlético Madrid's Collapse in Bilbao: Llorente Calls for Álvarez to Deliver
Atlético Madrid didn’t just lose in Bilbao. They collapsed.
A 3–0 defeat to Athletic at San Mamés handed Diego Simeone’s side their first loss of the season and exposed a team still trying to work out how to use its biggest attacking gamble of the summer: Julián Álvarez.
Two minutes of chaos
Atlético reached half-time alive, two goals down but not yet broken. Then came the restart.
On 46 minutes, Nico Williams struck. Two minutes later, Robert Navarro added another. In 120 seconds, the game was gone, the away end stunned, the red-and-white shirts suddenly heavy.
“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.”
Oihan Sancet’s late third only underlined the damage. The real story lay in that brutal start to the second half and in what it revealed about an Atlético side still searching for an attacking reference point.
Marcos Llorente didn’t sugarcoat it.
“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.”
Waiting for Álvarez
All eyes, inevitably, turned to Álvarez.
Atlético fought off Barcelona’s attempts to sign the Argentine in the final days of the window, refusing to even sit at the negotiating table and effectively forcing him to stay. This was his first appearance since the market closed, his first real audition as the man expected to lead the attack.
He started on the bench. Simeone went without a recognised centre-forward, using Álex Baena and Kang-in Lee in the most advanced roles. Jonathan David, signed on loan on deadline day, never left his seat.
Álvarez was sent on with just over half an hour to play and Atlético already two goals down. He didn’t change the game. The team around him didn’t help much either.
Still, inside the dressing room, the message is clear: he has to be the difference-maker.
“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.”
That word – “desperately” – hung in the air. Atlético chose Álvarez over a big fee from Barcelona. Now they need a return.
Teammates close ranks
If the finishing touch is missing, his teammates insist the signs are there.
Hancko, who spent much of the evening watching the chaos unfold from the back, highlighted Álvarez’s intent.
“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.”
He went further, underlining how much the squad has emotionally invested in the forward.
“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 message is unmistakable: Atlético have tied their attacking future, at least for this season, to Álvarez. Now it’s on the pitch where that decision will be judged.
A brutal week ahead
There is no soft landing. No time to lick wounds.
Next stop: Anfield.
Atlético travel to face Liverpool in the Champions League, a stadium that punishes any lapse in concentration far more ruthlessly than the two minutes that destroyed them in Bilbao. After that, it’s a La Liga trip to Real Sociedad, another side capable of tearing open a defence that switches off.
One early-season stumble can be written off. Two, in a week like this, would ask a far sharper question: can Álvarez and this Atlético attack carry the weight the club has placed on them?
