Atletico Madrid played badly in this match, because with their dominance in possession of the ball they could at least get 1 point. But we also have to remember that Athletic Bilbao isn't a team that's easy to beat at home. So, I think this can be a lesson for Atletico Madrid not to waste their opportunities.
Currently Girona still leads the La Liga standings with 41 points, and they will face Alaves in the next match, I think Girona can fly even further in the future.
Atletico Madrid may not have performed at their best in this game, but This is more about Athletic Bilbao is known for being a tough team to beat, especially when playing at home. Their resilience and defensive capabilities often make it difficult for opposing teams to win, even when dominating possession. Atletico Madrid have themself to blame for not converting their dominance in possession into maximum points that could indeed be seen as a missed opportunity.
Atletico Madrid need to take lessons from this game to avoid wasting opportunities in future matches. Teams who use challenging encounters as lessons to improve their strategies and performances are the ones moving forward. Atletico Madrid's ability to adapt and learn from such situations will contribute to their overall growth and competitiveness in the league. They can't keep dropping points if they want to close the points gap with the teams above them.
It seems that Atletico Madrid are very frustrated with this match because they are having difficulty making up for Bilbao strong defense which means they are unable to get many shots off in this match.
Bilbao made good use of the opportunity when playing in front of their supporters because they were able to end the match with a win. I think these two teams are equally strong, but when Bilbao really has a strong defense, Atletico madrid will lose hope of winning. Atletico madrid only excelled in possession of the ball but that is not important because they could not break into Bilbao goal in this match.
Atletico madrid hopes of widening the gap with the teams below them failed this week, making their ranking increasingly vulnerable to being shifted by the teams below them in the coming week. Apart from that, Barcelona also failed in the away match where Barcelona failed to get full points because Valnecia was able to thwart Barcelona mission to get full point. These two team shared points in this match after the draw they achieved. Xavi has not been able to bring Barcelona back to victory after they were beaten by Girona the previous week.