Athletic Club 1-0 Atletico Madrid: Berenguer stunner drops visitors to back-to-back defeats

Alex Berenguer scored a late winner as Athletic Club inflicted Atletico Madrid’s second LaLiga defeat in four days, with Ernesto Valverde’s side triumphing 1-0 at San Mames.

Having lost 3-1 to Barcelona at Camp Nou on Tuesday, Diego Simeone’s side lost further ground at the top of the table as they slipped up in a game of few clear-cut chances.

Athletic had the better of a low-key first half, but Gorka Guruzeta shot wide following a flowing move 10 minutes in, while Nico Williams curled narrowly wide from distance.

The hosts lost Aymeric Laporte to injury on the half-hour mark and almost fell behind when Julian Alvarez passed up a decent chance, but Atletico only managed three shots – one of which hit the target – before the break.

Los Colchoneros improved after the interval, but Athletic continued to carry the greater threat on the counter-attack as Oihan Sancet ballooned an effort over the crossbar.

And the decisive moment came in the 85th minute as Williams played a pass across the edge of the area, with Berenguer stepping onto the ball and whipping a left-footed shot into the corner.

Data Debrief: Koke’s big day ruined

Atletico captain Koke became just the seventh player to appear 500 times for a single club in LaLiga, as he replaced Conor Gallagher as a half-time substitute.

But he was unable to celebrate his landmark outing with a victory, as Athletic made good on the dominance demonstrated by the underlying figures.

Athletic had 14 shots worth 1.05 expected goals (xG), while Atletico attempted seven with an xG value of 0.65.