The whispers around Athletic Bilbao have turned into a roar. For a club with their storied history, a third straight loss across all competitions isn’t just a blip; it’s a full-blown crisis in the making for the 2025/26 season. Their latest stumble came on the road, a 2-0 defeat in Valencia that saw them lose ground in the league standings and raised serious questions about their readiness for the Champions League challenge.
Meanwhile, Villarreal is cruising. They powered their way into a podium spot in the Spanish Liga this Saturday. In a hard-fought match at home, they overcame Osasuna with a 2-1 comeback victory during matchday five. This win pushed them ahead of the struggling Athletic Bilbao. Osasuna initially shocked the home crowd when Croatian Ante Budimir calmly converted a penalty kick just after halftime, in the 51st minute.
But Villarreal showed their fighting spirit. New Georgian signing Georges Mikautadze marked his debut goal in the 69th minute, igniting the comeback. Then, the Franco-Senegalese midfielder Pape Gueye delivered the winning blow in the 85th minute, sealing a crucial victory. Portuguese international central defender Renato Veiga also saw action, entering the game for Villarreal in the 67th minute to help shore up the defense.
Villarreal’s league success feels particularly sweet, especially after their tough start in the Champions League league phase, where they fell 1-0 to English side Tottenham in their opener. Their return to winning ways in La Liga, after two matchdays, now places them third with ten points. They share that points tally with reigning champions Barcelona, who host Getafe on Sunday, and Espanyol, who suffered a 2-0 loss today visiting the solo league leader, Real Madrid.
The league table tightens up just behind the top three, with three teams on nine points. Betis secured their nine points after a Friday night home win, beating Real Sociedad 3-1. Getafe also sits on nine points. Then there’s Athletic Bilbao, whose loss in Valencia marked their third consecutive defeat across all competitions. It was also their second league loss, coming just four days after a dispiriting 2-0 home defeat to English giants Arsenal in the Champions League.
The pressure is mounting on the Basque squad, who are set to face Sporting in the Champions League league phase. Their Valencia match quickly turned sour when defender Daniel Vivian received a red card in the 63rd minute, leaving his team with ten men. Valencia capitalized, with French new signing Baptiste SantamarÃa scoring his first goal for his new club in the 73rd minute. Substitute Hugo Duro then twisted the knife with a goal in the third minute of added time.
Athletic Bilbao now finds themselves in seventh place. The gap to Valencia, currently tenth, has shrunk. Valencia welcomed André Almeida onto the pitch in the 80th minute, while Thierry Correia remained on the bench. They now boast seven points, the same as Sevilla and Alavés, who also played this weekend. Sevilla, still waiting to debut Fábio Cardoso, picked up a vital 2-1 away win against Alavés. Swiss international Rubén Vargas and Chilean substitute Alexis Sánchez – who scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight in over eleven years since leaving Barcelona – bagged the goals for Sevilla, while Carlos Vicente netted a penalty for Alavés.