“Atlético Madrid snags important victory against rival, Athletic Bilbao”

There were many happy fans in the Vicente Calderón Stadium, proud home to Atlético Madrid, last Wednesday after a well-deserved win against Athletic Bilbao. After a relatively uneventful first half, Atleti was able to find the space to push through Bilbao's defense and put two goals in the net for the win. Their footwork proved much more effective during the second half, challenging the opposing defenders.

This was a highly anticipated match given Athletic Bilbao's recent victory against Manchester United, knocking the English team out of the UEFA Europa Championships. Atleti also recently defeated Besiktas to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa Championships. Furthermore, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have been long standing rivals, giving Atleti additional merit to their win.

The first half of the match was quite uneventful; neither team could seem to penetrate through the opposing defense. There were less than 10 shots on goal in the first half, none of them belonging to Athletic Bilbao. The energy seemed to be a bit low from both teams and the half ended at 0-0.

Atlético Madrid’s Coach, Diego Simeone, must have managed to fire up the squad during halftime because Atleti looked much stronger during the second half. They improved their speed and precision and were finally able to create space in the box. Within five minutes, Madrid scored their first goal, putting them in the lead. Adrián successfully dribbled around Bilbao’s defense to the right corner of the box, strategically shooting the ball to the left corner of the net. Basque keeper, Gorka Iraizoz, blocked the shot. However, Madrid’s star forward, Radamel Falcao, broke free from the defense to fire the rebound shot into the left side of the net.

After their first goal, Atleti continued to keep control of the ball and to put pressure on the opposing team. Twenty minutes later Atlético Madrid scored another goal. Juanfran rapidly advanced up the right side of the field and beautifully delivered a low cross ball to the center. Falcao was right there to head the ball into the net bringing the score to 2-0. However, Bilbao managed to make a small comeback. During the last ten minutes of the game, Bilbao really put the pressure on Madrid. Atleti’s defense struggled at the end of the game and Bilbao scored a goal in the 91^st minute. Javi Martínez tapped the ball past the opposing goalkeeper and into the net.

Though Atlético Madrid lost the chance for a shutout, they still played an excellent game against rivals, Athletic Bilbao. Both teams were missing key players due to injuries; Bilbao especially suffered without striker, Fernando Llorente. Radamel Falcao was the star of the game, scoring both of Atleti’s goals. He is ranked 3^rd in La Liga for most goals scored with 19 goals this season. 

Written by Donais Deetz