A Painful Start to the Terzic Era: Sevilla Thrash Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés

A Painful Start to the Terzic Era: Sevilla Thrash Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés

LaLiga – Matchday 2 | San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao | 22 August 2026

Final Score: Athletic Bilbao 1 – 3 Sevilla

It was not the debut German coach Edin Terzic had dreamed of for his new era on the Athletic Bilbao bench. After the warm reception that greeted his arrival at San Mamés, the Basque side were handed a harsh lesson by Sevilla, who claimed a deserved victory, going three goals clear before conceding only a late consolation to the home side.

How It Unfolded

Athletic's evening began to unravel early. In the 11th minute, defender Yuri Berchiche was sent off with a straight red card for a reckless challenge on winger Miguel Sierra at the edge of the penalty area, leaving the home side down to ten men before a quarter of an hour had elapsed in Terzic's first competitive match in charge.

Sevilla wasted no time exploiting the advantage. In the 15th minute, Oso opened the scoring after a mishandled touch by Athletic's international goalkeeper Unai Simón, giving the Andalusians an early lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the match.

Despite being a man down, the hosts tried to make up for the numerical disadvantage with sheer commitment rather than efficiency, but the first half ended without them finding a way past Odysseas' goal.

Second Half: Sevilla Seal It

Sevilla came out of the break and effectively settled the match within ten minutes. In the 50th minute, they finished off a rapid counterattack through Chidera Ejuke to double their lead, and just seven minutes later (57') Isaac Romero made it three, capitalizing on another defensive error — this time from full-back Jesús Areso — to put Sevilla three goals clear.

Despite the difficulty of their situation playing a man short, Athletic did manage to pull one back through defender Aitor Paredes, who scored from a corner kick in the 70th minute. However, their later efforts failed to produce any further reduction in the deficit, and the match ended in a 3-1 win for Sevilla.

Key Numbers

Starting Lineups

Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1): Unai Simón; Jesús Areso, Yeray Álvarez, Aitor Paredes, Yuri Berchiche; Beñat Gerenabarrena, Peio Canales; Iñaki Williams, Oihan Sancet, Alex Berenguer; Gorka Guruzeta.

Sevilla (4-2-3-1): Odysseas Vlachodimos; Juan Iglesias, Arouna Sangante, Castrín, Gabriel Suazo; Lucien Agoumé, Jon Guridi; Miguel Sierra, Peque Fernández, Oso; Robbie Ure.

Context and What's Next

The defeat cast a shadow over an opening that had been accompanied by great fan excitement, as "Los Leones" supporters welcomed Terzic's appointment as the club's new head coach. The individual defensive errors — from goalkeeper Unai Simón to full-back Areso — combined with the early red card, exposed a fragility that the German coach will need to address quickly, especially with two tough tests coming up in the days ahead: away to Barcelona, then Celta Vigo.

Sevilla, meanwhile, continue their strong start to the season after opening with a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, moving to the top of the table on maximum points — an early sign of a serious title challenge from the Andalusian side this season.

Report by: Dr. Talal Othman