Kylian Mbappé faced disappointment once again as he missed a crucial penalty kick, while Federico Valverde’s error led to a late goal, contributing to Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. This loss hampers Madrid’s standing as they trail behind Barcelona in the Spanish league.
After a scoreless first half, Athletic Bilbao took the lead in the 53rd minute with a goal from Álex Berenguer. Real Madrid responded fairly quickly, with Jude Bellingham managing to find an equalizer in the 78th minute. However, the tide turned when Mbappé had a penalty saved by Athletic’s goalkeeper, Julen Agirrezabala, during the 68th minute. Subsequently, Valverde’s defensive lapse allowed Gorka Guruzeta to score the winning goal for the home team in the 80th minute.
This was not the first penalty miscue for Mbappé, as he also failed to convert from the spot in last week’s Champions League defeat against Liverpool. Although he did not take the penalty during a Spanish league match on Sunday, he managed to alleviate some pressure by scoring in Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Getafe.
The outcome of this match leaves Real Madrid sitting four points behind Barcelona, who ended their own three-match winless streak earlier in the week with a commanding 5-1 victory against Mallorca. Madrid, sitting in the second position, has a game in hand and previously enjoyed three consecutive league wins following a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona during their recent “clasico” encounter.
In contrast to Madrid’s struggles, Athletic Bilbao celebrated their fourth consecutive victory across all competitions, elevating them to fourth place in the league standings. The fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday were rescheduled to accommodate the teams’ participation in the upcoming Spanish Super Cup set for January.
