Barcelona limped to a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday that sends them back to the top of La Liga, for 24 hours at least, three points ahead of Real Madrid.
Only a goal from substitute Ivan Rakitic in the 71st minute prevented Barca from another stalemate after a draw at Sevilla on Friday had allowed Real to go top on head-to-head.
Madrid will return to the summit if they beat struggling Real Mallorca on Wednesday but Barcelona’s victory at least puts the pressure back on Zinedine Zidane’s side, whose upward momentum is yet to be reflected by the table.
This Barca performance though was hardly a statement of intent, devoid of chances, lacking zip and tinged with frustration rather than the free-flowing football Quique Setien was appointed to bring in.
“We knew it was going to be complicated,” Setien said. “Also because of the situation there is some anxiety because there’s less and less margin for error. Sometimes we didn’t play with that composure and that showed in the first half when were more inaccurate than usual. We gave some belief and confidence to Athletic.”
Lionel Messi looked particularly wearied by his team’s display. The Argentinian was creator-in-chief again but the dependence on him was high and he remains one away...
source https://scroll.in/field/965507/la-liga-lionel-messi-left-frustrated-but-barcelona-go-top-with-narrow-win-over-athletic-bilbao?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public
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