Atlético Madrid's 3–0 Defeat in Bilbao: Lee Kang-in's Near-Miss
Atlético Madrid walked out of San Mamés with a bruising 3–0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of La Liga, a night that began with promise and woodwork-rattling attacks but unraveled into a defensive collapse after the break.
Lee Kang-in, starting for Atlético, sat right at the heart of that early surge. The South Korean midfielder opened brightly, demanded the ball, and almost silenced the home crowd with one swing of his right foot. His low shot beat the goalkeeper but not the frame, crashing off the post as Atlético hit the woodwork twice in a first half that teased a very different story.
For a while, it looked like Lee might shape the game. His control in the build-up to that chance drew praise, and he constantly looked to knit attacks together. Then the game slipped away from him, and from Atlético.
The second half told a harsher tale. Atlético’s back line cracked, and then cracked again. Three goals conceded after the interval, each one sharpened by errors at the back that, according to Spanish outlet El Desmarque, drove the match in completely the wrong direction for the visitors. The early initiative disappeared; the defensive mistakes took over.
Lee’s influence waned with Atlético’s grip on the match. By the 58th minute, his night was done as he was substituted, his almost-goal off the post standing as his main imprint on a game that sprinted away from him.
El Desmarque handed Lee a rating of 5, a middling mark that mirrored his evening: energetic and involved early, then increasingly peripheral as Bilbao seized control. Korea Herald highlighted the same contrast, pointing to his bright start and clean touch on the ball in the near-miss, before noting how his impact faded.
Mixed report card for Atlético
The ratings told their own story of a fractured performance. Four Atlético players topped the internal charts with 6 out of 10: Marc Pubill, Morten Hjulmand, Pablo Barrios and Álex Baena.
Pubill earned his score for solid defensive work in the first half, when Atlético still looked organized and competitive. Hjulmand and Barrios were credited for their consistency in midfield, trying to hold a shape and tempo as the match opened up around them. Baena, meanwhile, drew recognition for his attempts to threaten with shots, one of the few Atlético players still looking to sting Bilbao late on.
At the other end of the spectrum, Jan Oblak and Álex Grimaldo were hit with the harshest marks: 3 out of 10. El Desmarque underlined that Oblak did not register a single save on the night, a damning statistic for a goalkeeper of his stature. Grimaldo struggled badly in his duel with Robert Navarro, repeatedly exposed as Bilbao poured forward.
Ademola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone also received 3s, their attacking contributions unable to shift the momentum or relieve pressure. Marcos Llorente fared only slightly better with a 4, a rating that reflected effort but little end product.
There were more neutral notes. Cristian Romero, making his Atlético debut after coming on as a substitute, earned a 5, as did Julián Álvarez. Neither could change the course of a match that had already swung decisively in Bilbao’s favor.
Atlético leave San Mamés with no goals, no points, and a long look at a defensive unit that disintegrated in the second half. For Lee Kang-in, the memory of that shot off the post lingers — a fraction the other way, and this night, and perhaps the narrative around his performance, might have felt very different.
