A crucial 3-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in La Liga gave Atletico Madrid a serious booster in their quest to qualify for the Champions League. After Athletic's loss, Girona won 2-0 at Las Palmas, all but guaranteeing they would participate in the competition the following year. With five games left, Diego Simeone's Atletico, ranked fourth, pulled six points clear of their Basque opponents, ranked fifth. After being eliminated from Europe and suffering a terrible loss to Alaves in the top flight the previous weekend, Atletico rebounded thanks to goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Unai Simon's own goal and one by Angel Correa.

Nico Williams, leveled De Paul's opening goal for Athletic in the first half. Athletic, the Copa del Rey winners, are unlikely to make it back to the Champions League for the first time in ten years after their defeat.