Barcelona sealed off a great week with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou after a horrible game away at Real Betis last weekend. The game was kicked off by the Basque team and was played at a very high intensity in the first 20 minutes.
Bilbao’s high pressing, as always, troubled Barcelona, however, Rojiblancos were unable to convert the limited chances they had in the first quarter, managing to hit the post once. After seeing off this spell, Barcelona came into their own with Paco Alcacer netting his first league goal.
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Lionel Messi ended the first half with yet another goal from a free kick. Aleix Vidal added another in the second half to seal the game.
Here are five talking points from an entertaining game that puts Barcelona only a point behind Real Madrid for the moment:
#1 Squad rotation finally works out for Luis Enrique
It is not secret that Luis Enrique has been struggling to get his tactics right for a while. However, he was criticised the most for his poorly timed squad rotation that often saw Barcelona drop points on a regular basis. Barcelona went into this game making six changes from their starting line up against Atletico Madrid earlier this week.
With a long month ahead, this move seemed logical from Enrique. Luis Suarez was rested, but Paco Alcacer proved to be a potent replacement for the Uruguayan. None of the regular midfield players was lined up but Andre Gomes, Rafinha and Arda Turan – each had a good game individually but couldn’t hold the midfield well enough.
Jeremy Mathieu seemed relaxed and composed on the left flank while Aleix Vidal on the right flank has been a revelation for Barcelona.
#2 Athletic Bilbao’s Camp Nou curse
If there is an interesting stat from the Bilbao vs Barcelona fixtures, it is that Athletic Bilbao have not managed to keep a clean sheet at the Camp Nou since 1985, when the legendary Andoni Zubizarreta was in goal. Their defence has never been good enough to overcome the threat posed by Barcelona’s attack over the years.
Going into tonight’s game, the absence of Luis Suarez was something Bilbao could have capitalised upon, but a defensive collapse after the 20th minute let Neymar attack the left wing with ease – leading to Alcacer’s opener.
To add to that, Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz couldn’t keep out Messi’s free kick, which wasn’t the hardest of saves he had to make on the day. Another defensive lapse saw Aleix Vidal net his second league goal of the season. It just seems like Bilbao cannot defend well at the Camp Nou.
#3 The rise of stars just when Barcelona needed them
Barcelona certainly went all out in the summer transfer window but none of their players apart from the starting 11 seemed to be even good enough to be considered Barcelona quality for a majority of the first half of the season. None of the summer signings, apart from Samuel Umtiti, showed up for Barcelona when it mattered.
However, between December and January, it seems like Barcelona’s bench seems fired up. Arda Turan scored a couple of hat-tricks in December while Denis Suarez has been brilliant in midfield for the whole of January. Jasper Cillessen has stepped up whenever Barcelona needed him in the Copa del Rey.
Aleix Vidal seems to be a completely new player at the moment while Paco Alcacer has finally scored his first goal which will give him a tonne of confidence going into the business end of the season. If Barcelona can keep up the momentum, they could be looking at a trophy or two.
#4 Bilbao’s poor finishing in the earlier stages haunts them
Athletic Bilbao are always known for their high pressing and more so against a team like Barcelona, who prefers to build an attack starting from the goalkeeper. Their high pressing today in the first 20 minutes was fantastic and troubled the Catalans which led to a couple of great chances for Bilbao.
The first chance for Atheltic came in through Raul Garcia after a mix up between Gerrard Pique and Aleix Vidal. The former Atletico midfielder managed to direct the ball towards the post but couldn’t get it to sneak in. Only a few minutes later, Inaki Williams found himself in front of goal with a fantastic cross directed towards him.
The youngster couldn’t direct the ball towards Ter Stegen’s goal and headed it wide, thus missing perhaps the best chance of the game for Athletic Bilbao. Had even one of the two chances been taken early on, the course of the game could have completely changed and Barcelona would have been under pressure.
#5 Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were missed but Neymar steps up
Two of the senior most players in the Barcelona squad are Andres Iniesta, the club captain, and Sergio Busquets – the glue that holds Barcelona together. With both men picking up injuries, Barcelona has struggled to replace them, especially the hole of Sergio Busquets that Javier Mascherano, Ivan Rakitic and Andre Gomes have tried to fill in but failed.
Andres Iniesta’s creativity and composure were missed, but Arda Turan certainly did have a few great moments on the field. However, the man of the match this afternoon was certainly Neymar.
The Brazillian looked in the best form of the season and troubled Athletic Bilbao with his quick feet, mesmerising runs and quick turns. He set up Alcacer’s goal, lifting his assists tally in the league to 7. His return to form couldn’t have been at a better time and Luis Enrique would be grateful for that.
