Athletic limit the damage despite having two games in hand

The lesser blow for Athletic is that the two postponed matches have not cost them much ground in the table. The club have played two fewer games than most LaLiga teams and remain tenth on eight points, the same position they held before travelling to Madrid.

The postponements had separate causes. The match against Levante was suspended after torrential rain in Valencia. Last Saturday, the game at Vallecas was halted amid local protests against Martín Presa. The incomplete schedule complicates planning, particularly because both outstanding fixtures are away from home, and can add pressure as Athletic try to catch up.

The gap in the standings remains limited in a tightly packed start to LaLiga: eight teams have eight points, including Athletic. Eighth place can now bring a route to continental qualification through the UEFA ranking. That place is currently held by Deportivo, two places above Athletic.

Any calculation remains hypothetical. If Athletic won both outstanding games against Levante and Rayo, they would rise to fifth. Conversely, failing to take points at Ciutat de València and Vallecas could cost them places on goal difference. The club will not make up those fixtures before the next round, so the table will have changed by then.

Athletic will visit Levante next Wednesday for a sixth-round match. The Vallecas game, stopped at 0-0, still needs to be rescheduled. Its date, venue and restart conditions have yet to be decided. If it is played before the next break, Athletic have only one slot available in an already difficult schedule.

The wait adds to an increasingly congested calendar. Athletic will go a month without playing, from the match against Alavés on 19 September until the visit to Valencia scheduled for Saturday 17 October. That trip will begin a run of six games in 22 days.