Atlético Madrid Falls 3–0 to Athletic Bilbao as Lee Kang-in Shines
Atlético Madrid left San Mamés with a heavy 3–0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of La Liga, on a night when promise in the first half collapsed into defensive chaos after the break.
For South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in, it was a bittersweet outing. He started for Atlético, showed flashes of why the club trusts him, then watched the game slip away before being withdrawn in the 58th minute.
Lee denied by the post
Early on, Atlético looked alive. Lee, drifting into pockets between the lines, produced the visitors’ best moment of the match. Cutting inside, he let fly with his right foot and beat the goalkeeper – but not the frame of the goal. The ball crashed against the post and bounced out, a few centimeters from changing the entire tone of the night.
Atlético hit the woodwork twice in that first half, a reminder that they were not as lifeless as the final score suggests. They moved the ball, they probed, and for a while they quietened the famously loud San Mamés crowd.
Then the second half started, and the story turned.
Defensive errors punish Atlético
After the interval, Atlético unraveled. Three times their back line was breached, and three times they were punished. The source described a string of defensive errors that opened the door for Athletic Bilbao, and the scoreline told the rest.
As Bilbao grew in confidence, Lee’s influence faded. The sharp touches and early control that had marked his opening spell became rarer, his impact on the game steadily shrinking before his substitution just before the hour mark.
Spanish outlet El Desmarque reflected that arc in its player ratings. Lee received a 5, with the publication highlighting his bright start and composure on the ball in the move that led to his shot off the post, but noting how he drifted out of the contest as Atlético lost control.
Mixed ratings for a bruised Atlético side
The ratings painted a clear picture of a fractured team performance.
The highest marks in the Atlético side were only 6 out of 10, given to Marc Pubill, Morten Hjulmand, Pablo Barrios and Álex Baena. Pubill was credited for his defensive work in the first half, Hjulmand and Barrios for steady, consistent shifts in midfield, and Baena for at least trying to trouble Athletic with his shooting and attacking intent.
At the other end of the scale, some big names took a hit. Jan Oblak and Álex Grimaldo were each handed a 3. El Desmarque noted that Oblak did not register a single save on the night, while Grimaldo struggled badly in his duel with Robert Navarro.
Ademola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone also received 3s, their influence limited in a game that slipped away from Atlético’s forwards once the team’s defensive structure broke down. Marcos Llorente fared only slightly better with a 4, unable to tilt the balance in midfield or in transition.
Two players sat alongside Lee on a 5: Cristian Romero, who made his Atlético debut after coming off the bench, and Julián Álvarez. Romero’s first appearance offered little time to change the course of the match, while Álvarez worked but could not rescue a side already reeling.
A night that could have been remembered for Lee Kang-in’s first Atlético goal instead becomes another warning sign. The margins are thin at the top of La Liga, and if Atlético keep hitting the post at one end and gifting chances at the other, how long can they stay in the title conversation?
