Athletic Women edge Atlético Madrid in five-goal thriller
Athletic Women took three points from Atlético Madrid in a 3-2 victory that kept them in fourth place in the Primera División Femenina. The match was played on 27 September at the home ground, and it was one of those games where the scoreline tells only half the story. By then, both sides had already shown what they were capable of in the opening exchanges.
Azkona gave the hosts the lead in the first minute, a quick strike that caught the visitors off guard. Iannuzzi responded for Atlético just five minutes later, and suddenly the game was wide open. To be fair, neither goalkeeper had much to do in those opening moments, but the tension was palpable. And here's the thing — goals this early change how teams approach the rest of the match.
Ortega restored Athletic's advantage in the 32nd minute, and you could sense the shift in momentum. Atlético pressed for an equaliser but the home defence held firm, even as Luany picked up her second yellow card in the 56th minute before being sent off. The dismissal came at a crucial moment, and suddenly the visitors had to rethink their approach. It was a turning point, really — the kind of moment that decides more than the statistics will ever show.
Campos brought Atlético level in the 74th minute, and for a while it looked like the match might end in a draw. But Gabi Nunes had other ideas, scoring in the 89th minute to secure all three points for Athletic. Pinedo's red card in the 70th minute meant Atlético had been down to ten men for nearly twenty minutes, and you could see them struggling to find answers. Not that they didn't try — they created chances, just not the right kind.
The numbers tell an interesting story, or at least part of one. Atlético had 55 per cent possession and 122 attacks compared to Athletic's 45 per cent and 78, but shots accuracy tells you more — 31 per cent versus 45 per cent. Both sides registered four shots on target, but Athletic converted more of their opportunities. Big chances created sat at zero for both teams, which says something about the nature of the goals that fell.
The result keeps Athletic in fourth place on ten points from five games, while Atlético remain eighth on six. We had given Atlético a 56 per cent chance of winning, and fair play to them — they played better football for large parts of the match. But it's moments like Luany's dismissal, or Nunes's late strike, that don't always show up in the probabilities. The table goes out of the window in these games, and this one proved it.
