Bilbao holds Atlético to 0-0

SMA NEWS – MADRID

Ten-man Atlético Madrid was held to a second straight scoreless draw at home on Saturday after its talented attack was again stymied by Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league.

With Antoine Griezmann joining Luis Suárez, Ángel Correa, Yannick Carrasco and João Félix, coach Diego Simeone has his deepest well of attacking talent to draw on since taking over the team a decade ago.

But the defensive-minded Argentine has so far failed to get his attack to click. Atlético was also held to 0-0 by Porto at home in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, and Atlético has not scored more than two goals in any of its six games across all competitions this season.

“I won’t look for excuses,” Simeone said. “I believe in my team and in my players, and we are going to work hard so that these big names can do what they have always done, which is score goals.”

Midfielder Marcos Llorente went closest for Atlético when his 75th-minute shot from outside the area hit the post.

Three minutes later, Atlético was left a man down when Félix earned back-to-back yellow cards. The referee first booked him for swatting a defender who was clinging to his jersey from behind. Félix, who was not looking at the player when his hand impacted his face, got a quick second booking when he vehemently protested.

Bilbao almost took advantage of the numerical superiority, but substitute Asier Villalibre wasted a perfect opportunity to grab an injury-time winner when he shot high with only goalkeeper Jan Olbak to beat from close.

The Basque Country club and Atlético both remained undefeated through five rounds.