Match attendance: 38,798       

Who was Man Of The Match?  Rodrigo de Paul       

Atletico Madrid’s strong start to the new campaign was derailed on Saturday as they were held to a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao, giving rivals the chance to move top of the league.

Diego Simeone’s pacesetters were unable to break the deadlock and displayed poor form in front of the goal.

In search of an equalizer, Simeone made an attacking triple substitution after the break, bringing on Luis Suarez, in form Yannick Carassco and Herrera.

Atleti gained more urgency as a result of the changes, and they dominated the second half. Still, they lacked a cutting edge and struggled to contain Athletic’s counters.

The new signing Rodrigo de Paul looked really promising in the midfield for Atleti and had a really solid performance. He is our Man of the Match for this match.

Diego Simone brought on Joao Felix to get a goal. In the 78th minute, Atletico’s record signing was handed a yellow card for hitting Unai Vencedor, who responded angrily by yelling at the referee, who quickly produced a second card and sent him out.

When visiting striker Asier Villalibre received a through pass from Alex Berenguer inside the box, the forward surprisingly wasted the golden opportunity and missed the target; Atletico were fortunate not to lose the game in extra time.

Diego Simeone’s team leads the table with 11 points, while Athletic Club has nine points from five games.

Lets check out Rodrigo’s MOTM worthy stats:

Rodrigo’s Stats:

Rating: 7.67

Minutes played: 90

Pass accuracy %: 83.6

Touches: 77

Shots (on target): 2(0)

Dribbles: 3

Cross completion: 4(2)

Key Passes: 2

Aerial duels won: 2

Tackles: 1

Interceptions: 2