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#3 Antoine Griezmann caps off fine display with match-winning goal
After a lukewarm start to the season, Antoine Griezmann has been in fine form for Barcelona in recent weeks.
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The France international came into this game having scored five goals and provided four assists in his last eight games in all competitions.
Two of his goals came in the Spanish Super Cup final, and he once again put out a good display against Los Leones.
The 29-year-old showed great awareness to position himself for the winning goal, while he also played a key role in the wonderful build-up.
Beyond his match-winning strike, Griezmann gave an all-round display worthy of his abilities.
He registered three shots in the game, with two of those hitting the target, while he also made two key passes and one interception.
The jury is still out on Griezmann's Barcelona career to this point. However, the former Atletico Madrid man still has time to come good at Camp Nou. On evidence of his performance here, he might have started turning a positive corner.
#2 Barcelona pick up crucial three points to move ahead of Real Madrid
It might have seemed unlikely when Barcelona were floundering in mid-table a few weeks ago, but a recent run of positive results has seen the Blaugrana surge up the La Liga standings.
Real Madrid's shock 2-1 loss at home to Levante at Saturday offered Barcelona the chance to go clear of their arch-rivals, and they did not pass up the opportunity.
Despite facing a resilient Athletic Bilbao, who proved more than an able match, the Catalans got the job done to ensure they picked up all three points.
At this stage, that is all that matters, and Ronald Koeman would be happy with the application of his wards in what was a tricky fixture.
A title charge might seem infeasible, considering Atletico Madrid's imperious form. However, Barcelona would be hoping to keep their momentum going to take advantage of an unlikely slip-up by Diego Simeone's side.
#1 Lionel Messi puts off-field issues to score an inch-perfect freekick
The build-up to this game was overshadowed by El Mundo's scandalous report of Lionel Messi's true salary.
The details had earlier been revealed by German media house Der Spiegel in 2018, but this latest reaffirmation caused further acrimony at a club currently dealing with several issues.
Barcelona have since absolved themselves of any blame and insisted that they would be seeking a court redress against the media house.
It was on the backdrop of this hullaballoo that Lionel Messi returned to the Blaugrana starting line-up after two weeks out.
Despite the controversy surrounding his future and contract, the Rosario native put that behind him to produce another memorable display for his side.
He showed his ambition as early as the sixth minute when he forced Unai Simon into a smart save and sent a chested shot narrowly over the bar soon after.
The Barcelona captain soon got a deserved goal when he converted from a 25-yard freekick.
Opposition teams have deployed several tactics to stop Messi's deadly set-pieces, and Sunday night was no different.
In addition to the wall, a player lay down on the ground, while Oscar di Marcos raced to the goal line to add extra protection.
All this proved to be in vain, however, as an inch-perfect free-kick went over the wall, beyond the despairing jump of Di Marcos and into the top corner.
The casual nature in which Messi lofted the ball over the wall belied his otherworldly technique and left Simon stranded in the Bilbao goal.
The strike was his 650th in all competitions for Barcelona, further highlighting the fear of an apocalyptic future post-Messi.
In total, Messi had four shots (two on target), made four key passes and completed an incredible 11 dribbles - more than the total posted by everyone else on the field combined.
