You almost expect Atletico Madrid to win 1-0 all the time and grind out points by suffocating their opponents with a physical and defensively-oriented brand of football. But even Diego Simeone’s soldiers have their off days.Athletic Club arrived to the Spanish capital to try and frustrate the champions and maybe attempt to snatch a point by keeping Simeone’s attackers quiet. Not only they succeeded in claiming a point, but they’d also had a fantastic chance to score late on and grab all three.Joao Felix (Atlético Madrid) yellow and red card in 20 seconds against Athletic Bilbao 78’pic.twitter.com/FBiaWfKqtU— noobfcb (@noobfcb_) September 18, 2021 Rather than finding a trademark winner, Atletico subjected their fans for a second goalless home draw in just four days. A snooze fest against Porto in the Champions League was followed by two points dropped in La Liga.Antoine Griezmann was subbed with less than an hour of play gone, prompting yet another mixture of cheers and boos from the home fans. There are Atletico supporters who still haven’t forgiven the Frenchmen his departure to Barcelona two years ago – and his return didn’t do anything to soften their stance.Inaki Williams has now played 200 consecutive matches in LaLiga for Athletic Bilbao without getting injured. He hasn’t missed a game since April 2016. Machine 💪 pic.twitter.com/kyUwIjz2pH— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 18, 2021 It was one of those days when frustration keeps building up until it results in something stupid or something sensational. The red and whites went searching for a dramatic winner, but the pressure got to their Portuguese starlet Joao Felix, who casually slapped an opponent and received a booking for his efforts. But instead of walking away, Felix proceeded to confront the referee and earned himself another booking and an automatic sending off with around 15 minutes to go.The Tiger of Rayo! Legendary Colombian attacker bags goal on his debut after returning to La LigaAsier Villalibre Molina had a chance to punish the hosts for their failure in the final third, but his finish was way off target after a glorious team move by the Basque side.Atletico remained top of the table after dropping two points at Wanda Metropolitano, but their city rivals Real, Valencia and Real Sociedad could all overtake them by the end of the weekend.LA LIGA – Round 5FridayCelta Vigo – Cadiz 1-2 (0-2)/Mina 64 – Lozano 38, Espino 43/SaturdayRayo Vallecano – Getafe 3-0 (1-0)/Trejo 9 pen, Ciss 78, Falcao 81/Atletico Madrid – Athletic Club 0-019.30: (2.55) Elche (3.00) Levante (3.30)22.00: (3.10) Alaves (3.00) Osasuna (2.70)Sunday15.00: (3.50) Mallorca (3.15) Villareal (2.35)17.15: (2.70) Sociedad (3.10) Sevilla (3.00)19.30: (2.05) Betis (3.50) Espanyol (3.90)22.00: (4.00) Valencia (3.60) Real Madrid (2.00)Monday 22.00: (1.30) Barcelona (6.25) Granada (10.0)***odds are subject to change
