Atletico Madrid went to bed as league leaders in Spain on Saturday night, but Diego Simeone’s side will be frustrated after being held to a 0-0 draw by an effective and disciplined Athletic Club Bilbao side that had the best chances to win the match.
Atletico Madrid’s best and virtually only chance was a Marcos Llorente shot which bounced off the post in the second half and the visitors would have taken all three points if Inaki Williams, who was making his 200th consecutive league appearance, had been able to finish when one on one with Jan Oblak, or Asier Villalibre had been able to hit the target in injury time with just Oblak to beat.
Atletico’s frustration was compounded when Joao Felix was sent off with 13 minutes left to play after saying “you are crazy, you are crazy” to referee Gil Manzano, while Athletic remain unbeaten and have conceded just once in their first five games.