Atletico Madrid have finally put an end to the threat from Bilbao on their fourth position on the table by winning them 3-1 yesterday. Bilbao will only hope to play in the Europa cup next season as there is no way that they can qualify to the champions league anymore, due to their defeat yesterday.
It was a great victory for Atletico Madrid, and Simeone will be very glad to know that UCL is sure for him next season, so that he can work on his men on that aspect next season. Girona is sitting on the second position for the mean time till when Barcelona will play their own match.
Mathematically, the possibility for Bilbao to finish in the top 4 is still there, but we also have to look realistically at the strength of the teams above them, such as Atletico Madrid and Girona, who will definitely maintain their consistency to maintain their position until the end of the season.
Atletico Madrid's victory over Bilbao indeed ended everything for the competition or pressure that had been put on by Bilbao, but I think this victory was also worthy of Atletico Madrid because they played much better in this match, especially in the second half, Atletico Madrid's performance was really quite impressive.
Being 6 points behind Atletico Madrid is certainly not an easy thing, but in terms of opportunities, Bilbao can still fight not to lose points in the remaining matches. On the other hand, Atletico Madrid UCL ticket next season is the price they have to pay. There is no guarantee that Bilbao can catch up with Atletico Madrid 100% because in terms of squad depth, Bilbao is still below ATM. Last season Sociedad represented UCL with 3 top teams but with Girona entering the race for tickets, I say Michel troops deserve it, the struggle in La Liga has appointed Girona as a candidate to replace Sociedad.