Lekue Laments Athletic's Tough Luck: 'We Didn't Deserve to Lose'
Athletic Club captain reflects on frustrating home defeat to high-flying Espanyol as Valverde's men close out 2025 with disappointment at San Mamés.
Athletic Club End Year with Home Disappointment
Athletic Club’s 2025 campaign ended with a whimper rather than a bang as they suffered a frustrating defeat to an in-form Espanyol side at San Mamés. The result caps off what’s been a proper mixed bag of a year for Ernesto Valverde’s troops.
After the final whistle, club captain Iñigo Lekue didn’t mince his words when assessing their performance, though he felt the scoreline was harsh on the Basque outfit.
“I don’t think we deserved the defeat, but football is like that,” Lekue reflected, in what’s becoming an all-too-familiar story for Athletic this season.
Same Old Story
The defeat follows a pattern that’s been doing Athletic’s head in throughout the first half of the season. Creating chances but failing to put them away, while getting punished for defensive lapses at crucial moments.
Espanyol, currently sitting pretty in fifth place, showed exactly why they’re flying high with a composed performance in Bilbao. The Catalans have now strung together five consecutive league victories to close out 2025 - not too shabby at all.
What made this defeat particularly frustrating for the home side was how Espanyol managed the game. The visitors controlled possession for long stretches at the Cathedral, something few teams manage to do against Athletic on their own patch.
Espanyol’s Clinical Edge
Lekue acknowledged the visitors’ efficiency, noting how they made the most of limited opportunities. Espanyol struck at two pivotal moments in the match, taking their chances with the sort of clinical finishing that Athletic themselves have been crying out for.
“They’re a team full of confidence who believe in themselves when they’re ahead,” Lekue observed. “They might not create much, but what they do create makes sense. They caught us out with those two chances at key moments.”
Looking Ahead to 2026
Despite ending the year on a bum note, Lekue remains optimistic about what 2026 might bring. The Athletic captain emphasized the importance of using the upcoming break to reset mentally before returning with renewed determination.
“Now we have a week to disconnect, clear our minds and come back stronger,” he said. “2026 comes loaded with objectives that we hope to achieve step by step.”
For Athletic fans, the hope will be that the team can find more consistency in the new year and turn some of these narrow defeats into victories. As Lekue put it, they’ll “fight until the end” - and you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Basque lions.