Athletic Club's 21 shots, one point of nothing at Levante

Athletic Club left the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on Wednesday night with a 3-1 defeat, their first since the end of August, and a set of numbers that sit awkwardly beside the scoreline. Edin Terzić's side had 21 shots to Levante's 12, 61.9% possession, 104 successful final-third passes to 51, 28 crosses to 16 and nine corners to three. They lost by two goals. The match, played at 18:00 UK time on 21 October 2026, is less a story about being outplayed than about what happens when territorial control refuses to become goals.

Levante's win was built on a chaotic burst around the 20th and 22nd minutes. Roger Brugué scored twice, both stemming from Athletic's failure to deal with a low cross; the second was tapped into an empty net after Unai Simón's involvement. Before that, Athletic's early promise had included Álex Berenguer forcing Mathew Ryan into a strong save at full stretch. After it, they were chasing a game they had largely controlled. Berenguer pulled one back with a 67th-minute penalty, and Etta Eyong added Levante's third in the 90th+8th minute. Aymeric Laporte was shown a card in the 73rd minute, with Flashscore describing Athletic as finishing with ten men.

The gap between process and points is stark. Athletic's 21 shots produced only four on target; Levante's 12 produced seven. That is the match in one line. Athletic generated more than enough possession and final-third entries to win comfortably, but the shots that arrived were either blocked, off target or struck from positions that did not trouble Ryan. Levante, by contrast, were clinical in the only currency that counts. Their expected goals of 1.98 against Athletic's 1.90 suggest the chances were roughly even in quality; the finishing was not.

This was not a one-off collapse in attacking output. Athletic's 21 shots here came against an average of 12.6 across their earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions, and their 1.9 expected goals here came against an average of 1.06. Their nine corners were double their earlier average of 4.6. The attacking volume rose sharply. The points return did not. Athletic's goals minus expected goals in this match was -0.9, against an average of 0.0 across their earlier matches this season — a single-match finishing shortfall rather than an established pattern.

The wider context matters. Athletic arrived on nine points from a 2-3-3 record, having drawn three consecutive league games, and left with a first defeat since the end of August. Under Terzić, their league record this season stands at 2W 3D 2L, 1.29 points per game over seven games. That is a small sample, and it should be treated as one. The comparison with Ernesto Valverde's 2013/2014 side — 20W 10D 8L, 1.84 points per game over 38 games — is a historical marker, not a verdict on Terzić's first months.

What the match does show is a team capable of generating volume but not yet converting it. Levante's win ended a near eight-year wait for a victory over Athletic, who had been unbeaten in their last ten meetings with six wins and four draws, and had won the last three. That record made the result feel like an upset. The shot count makes it feel like something else: a side that controlled the game but lost the moments that mattered.

The open question is whether this was a cold night in front of goal or something more structural. Athletic's shot volume and final-third passing suggest the process is working. Their four shots on target suggest the final action is not. Until that changes, matches like this will keep arriving: plenty of the ball, plenty of shots, and nothing to show for it.