Player Ratings: Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Atletico Madrid

ATHLETIC BILBAO

Iraizoz: 6.5 - Generally comfortable but flapped at two crosses early on, while his goal led a charmed life as Atletico hit the woodwork three times. Made a good save from Forlan with 10 minutes remaining.

Iraola: 6 - Made some endeavouring runs down the right hand side and looked to overlap, but was unable to stop many of Atletico's attacks.

Ustaritz: 8 - He made a superb last-ditch tackle to block Aguero's shot just before half time, and made a number of other excellent interceptions. An excellent performance.

Amorebieta: 7 - He had Aguero in his pocket in the first half, but some of his defending was suspect in the second half and needed to close down the strikers with more frequency.

Koikili: 6.5 - Tried to get forward as often as possible and made no glaring errors.

Susaeta: 6.5 - Was lively down the right hand side and had a chance to make it 2-0 as he raced through on goal after half and hour, but failed to test Asenjo. Forced off with an injury in the second half.

Orbaiz: 7 - Set pieces were lacking early on, but he battled hard for his side in the centre of the pitch and led by example.

Javi Martinez: 7 - Showed great desire as he lept above the Atletico defence to send his header flying into the corner for the game's only goal. Showed flashes of real quality, and tracked back to help out his defence.

De Marcos: 6 - He should have scored just before the break as Asenjo dithered. Faded as the second half wore on - needs to show more consistency as he has undoubted talent.

Toquero: 6 - Working hard for the team and had a shout for a penalty in the 35th minute. Replaced just before half time due to injury.

Llorente: 5.5 - Looked very isolated up front and was largely anonymous. Mostly involved at throw ins to knock the ball down for a team-mate, but he did the job his team required of him.

Substitutes:

Gabilondo: 5.5 - Came on after Athletic's period of dominance in the game had ended, and had a limited impact.

Perez: 6 - Had 25 minutes to make an impression on his league debut, and handled the pressure adequately.

David Lopez: 6 - He was fairly uninvolved in an attacking sense, but looked to shore up the defence in the closing stages.


ATLETICO MADRID

Asenjo: 6.5 - Denied De Marcos on 21 minutes and made some other very good saves, but this was mixed in with some almost-catastrophic indecision - particularly in the 43rd minute when De Marcos bore down on goal.

Ujfalusi: 6 - Exposed at the back by De Marcos on a number of occasions and his marking at set pieces was poor. Tried to get forward when he could.

Pablo: 5 - Should have been more decisive for the goal and was frequently involved in some chaotic defending.

Juanito: 5.5 - Dealt with the threat of Llorente, but he was caught out far too many times - will be punished on more than one occasion against a better attack.

Antonio Lopez: 6 - Always looking to support the midfield but was found wanting defensively many times. Tried to test Iraizoz with some shots from range early on.

Maxi Rodriguez: 6.5 - He was unlucky to hit the post in the 13th minute, and looked dangerous for Atleti. Substituted after an hour.

Raul Garcia: 6 - Poor first half but improved in the second. Very limited impact going forward.

Assuncao: 5.5 - He was very quiet after picking up an early booking, and allowed the wingers to do most of the attacking.

Simao: 5.5 - His shots from range rarely tested Iraizoz, and he wasted a clear opportunity to equalise just after the hour mark.

Aguero: 5.5 - Did almost nothing for the first 45 minutes, but improved in the second half. He is clearly lacking confidence and is not as sharp as he was 12 months ago, and there was a feeling that it would not be his night when his shot hit the bar on 76 minutes .

Forlan: 6.5 - Hit the post with a great effort with 15 minutes remaining and brought another excellent save from Iraizoz. Worked very hard up front, but his lack of goals recently is clearly affecting his morale.

Substitutes:

Jurado: 6 - Came on for Maxi Rodriguez with 30 minutes remaining, but did not have as much of an impact as the Argentine.

Reyes: N/A - Only had 10 minutes in which to do something, but couldn't affect the result.

Anthony Wright, Goal.com