Athletic Club end historic Atletico Madrid run to threaten Copa del Rey hopes

Atletico Madrid went down 1-0 to Athletic Club in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, much to the surprise of the onlooking Madrid crowd. Not least because they had not seen their side lose at the Metropolitano for 13 months.

The victory gives the advantage to Los Leones heading back to San Mames for the second leg, which will take place in the last week of February, but also ends a run of 28 games unbeaten for Los Rojiblancos at home. Over the past 13 months, a run dating from the 7th of February 2024 back to the 8th of January 2023, Atletico won 26 of their 28 games, including twice against Real Madrid.

The run started after a surprise 1-0 defeat to Barcelona following an Ousmane Dembele goal, and only drew twice with Getafe in the intravening time between that match, and the one on Wednesday night which saw Alex Berenguer convert his penalty past Jan Oblak. Those draws were a 1-1 at the start of that unbeaten run, and a 3-3 this past December.

The remarkable run is the best in their history at home, and illustrates how dominant they have been, especially at home in 2023. If Los Rojiblancos could take anything close to that form on their travels, then Diego Simeone will have a title contender on his hands.

More concerning is their record against Athletic Club. Los Rojiblancos must now look to come back against the Basque side away from home, where they have struggled significantly. In addition, so far this season they have been beaten twice by Ernesto Valverde, whose side are yet to concede in those two matches.