Athletic Bilbao Matches Unwanted Defensive Record After 3-1 Home Loss to Sevilla in La Liga Opener
Athletic Bilbao faced a harsh introduction to their La Liga season with a 3-1 defeat against Sevilla at home. The game took a sharp turn early when defender Yuri Berchiche was sent off with a straight red card just 11 minutes into the match, leaving the team down to ten players for the majority of the contest.
Playing a man short for over 80 minutes, coach Edin Terzic's squad struggled to fend off a relentless Sevilla attack. Mistakes from individual players compounded the challenge, leading to the team conceding three goals and matching a negative defensive record from last season.
Defensive Weaknesses Resurface
Last season, Athletic Bilbao only allowed three or more goals once at home, during a 3-0 loss to Real Madrid. That defensive strength has quickly vanished, as Sevilla found the net three times against goalkeeper Unai Simón. Goals came from Oso, Chidera Ejuke, and Isaac Romero.
Alongside the early red card, costly errors contributed heavily to the scoreline. Aitor Paredes’ mistake led to one goal, Simón showed a rare lapse in concentration for the opening goal, and Jesus Areso’s backheel mishap allowed the third. Terzic now faces the challenge of rebuilding the defense that helped Simón earn the Zamora Trophy in 2023-24 and kept the fewest goals conceded in 2024-25.
Ongoing Defensive Troubles
The poor showing mirrors issues that plagued the squad throughout the 2025-26 season when they conceded 58 goals, ranking as the fifth-worst defense in La Liga. Though Paredes did manage to score a consolation goal in the second half, the damage was already done. Terzic needs to act fast to fix these gaps if Athletic Bilbao are to regain the resilience that once made San Mamés a fortress.
Next Challenge: Facing Barcelona
Relief seems far off as Athletic Bilbao prepare for a tough away match against Barcelona on Thursday. Barcelona enters this game full of confidence after a commanding 5-0 win over Elche in their opener. Their attacking trio, including Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Dani Olmo, averaged 2.5 goals per game last season.
With Athletic Bilbao having recorded very few clean sheets last term, Terzic’s squad faces a huge test to stop their early momentum slide and tighten up their leaky defense.
- La Liga Fixtures:
- Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao: 27 Aug 2026, 21:00
- Athletic Bilbao vs Sevilla: 29 Aug 2026, 21:30
- Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao: TBD
