Real Madrid vs Athletic Club player ratings: Keep Kylian Mbappe out of the penalty shootout! The French superstar misses another penalty as Jude Bellingham’s strike fails to save Los Blancos from defeat in Bilbao

Real Madrid vs Athletic Club player ratings: Keep Kylian Mbappe out of the penalty shootout! The French superstar misses another penalty as Jude Bellingham’s strike fails to save Los Blancos from defeat in Bilbao

Carlo Ancelotti’s side missed the chance to reduce the gap to Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a disappointing away defeat

Kylian Mbappe missed the penalty spot again in a lifeless performance as Real Madrid fell to Athletic Club in a raucous San Mames game on Wednesday. Los Blancos’ big-name summer signing saved his second penalty in a row and although Jude Bellingham kept Madrid in the game with his fourth goal in as many league games, two defensive errors proved costly and resulted in a 2-1 defeat.

Madrid fell behind early on as the home team enjoyed numerous chances while the visitors failed to make much of an impact. The closest they came was a deflected shot from Mbappé that slipped into the net, but his goal was ruled out for offside. Federico Valverde also had a free kick opportunity, but sent the ball well over the crossbar.

The home side took the lead at the start of the second half when Thibaut Courtois parried a ball straight into the path of Alex Berenguer, who fired the ball into the net from three meters away. Madrid had a golden chance to equalize through Mbappe, but the Frenchman missed his second penalty in a week – substitute goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala parried his shot.

Bellingham made up for his teammate’s mistake by scoring the equalizer from close range with twelve minutes remaining. A typical Madrid comeback appeared to be underway, but Athletic responded immediately with Gorka Guruzeta taking advantage of a mistake by Valverde and getting past Courtois.

GOAL evaluates the Real Madrid players from San Mames…

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