In midweek, Atletico Madrid traveled to the Allianz Stadium to face Juventus in the second leg of the 2018/2019 Champions League round of 16. Despite having a 2-goal advantage in the first leg, coach Diego Simeone and his team could not defend their results. After 90 minutes of competition, they lost 0-3, thereby stopping at the most prestigious playground in Europe.
After this match, coach Diego Simeone announced that he and his students will continue to work hard, to end La Liga in the best position. At San Mames, coach Simeone of the visitors surprised everyone when he changed his favorite formation of 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 with more attacking power.
However, perhaps because they have not yet regained their spirit after the crushing 0-3 defeat to Juve, Atletico's midfielders, except Koke, have not played up to expectations. The ineffective midfield has left Atletico's three attackers, Griezmann, Morata and Costa, helpless in finding their way into the opponent's goal.
In the first half, Bilbao was the team that created the only dangerous situation. Unfortunately, Ibai Gomez's shot with the left foot of his right back did not beat the brilliance of goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Due to the deadlock, the away team's attack had to use long-range shooting options and all of them were ineffective. After the break, the match script did not change much, the two teams still played tightly. The turning point of the match came in the 73rd minute, when Jose Gimenez passed the ball wrongly in front of the penalty area, for Bilbao to organize a quick counter-attack, Inigo Cordoba assisted Inaki Williams to finish close to the goal to open the score.
After conceding the goal, Atletico Madrid were forced to raise their formation to find an equalizer, but on a day when Bilbao's defense played with concentration and covered each other well, coach Diego Simeone's students were at a standstill.
The attack line is not strong enough, and Atletico Madrid's defense is not completing its mission. In the 85th minute, Bilbao organized a quick counter-attack, Kenan Kodro finished decisively at a narrow corner from Ibai Gomez's pass, the ball hit the foot of Atletico Madrid defender, causing goalkeeper Oblak to lose his arm.
There is nothing left to lose after the second goal, Atletico Madrid put all their efforts into the attack, but what this team has done is just 0. In the end, Bilbao won 2-0 against Atletico Madrid.
After 28 rounds, Bilbao has 37 points, ranking 9th on the rankings. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have 56 points and are still in 2nd place, 7 points behind the leading socialist team, Barca, but they have played 1 more match. If Barca beat Betis in the late match, the gap will be increased to 10 points and the championship is almost in Barca's hands.
