Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Live Score and Commentary, La Liga 2017-18

Wow! That was a frantic and open game! Barcelona will be pleased with their first-half performance, but boy did they have a hard time in the second half! The points are all that matter though and they have re-opened their four-point lead over second-placed Valencia!

This is Amit signing off...take care, lads and lasses!

Peep peeeep peeeeeep! Full time! Barcelona pick up a dogged win!

Barca broke through and it was 3v1 there. Messi threads a pass for Suarez who takes a first-time shot, saved by Leka. But sadly for the custodian, Paulinho was around to knock it in!

90+2' GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL for Barca! They've finally sealed it! Paulinho!

90+1' Oh! Benat nearly smashes one in! It's blocked by the Barca defence!

Three minutes will be added.

90' Messi's freekick is just wide. Bilbao are back in possession. Can the fashion another opening?

89' Messi controls exceptionally well and wins a free kick. A decent position this.

88' Rakitic and Semedo combine well as the former puts in a smashing through pass for the latter. His cross is cleared! Barca are finally keeping the ball now.

87' Bilbao win a throw deep in the Barca half! Nothing comes of it and Barca are in possession.

85' Chance for Bilbao! Benat with a worldie of a cross which is met well by Aduriz! Saved well by Ter Stegen!

84' Terrible control from Umtiti as he nearly serves it on a platter for Aduriz. But he's able to recover and win the ball back. Barca sure look nervy at the back! Corner for Bilbao!

83' Substitution for Bilbao: Susaeta is on for Williams. A bit surprising?

83' Substitution for Barcelona: Semedo is on for Gomes.

82' Barca ply the ball out of the defence and Rakitic is fouled by Cordoba. Looks like Semedo will be coming on.

80' Suarez makes a good run, is found by Messi, but can't connect. The flag is up, though. Barca are now using a bit of time-wasting tactics. Umtiti is booked for delaying the taking of a freekick!

79' Barca players have been caught dwelling on the ball far too often. Rakitic loses the ball but luckily wins a freekick as it was a tackle from behind.

78' Decent chance for Aduriz! He is found well by Cordoba but just can't find the bottom right corner. His shot was gathered easily by Ter Stegen.

77' Williams gets the better of the Barca defence again and finds Cordoba. The latter's effort is wide! Barca are hanging on now. Williams has been Bilbao's go-to man so far.

76' Ter Stegen hoofs it straight out of play! This has been a game of two halves. Barca have barely had anything noteworthy in the final third.

74' Barca finally manage a spell of possession, but Paulinho puts in a bad tackle and Bilbao have a freekick. Paulinho was booked for that challenged, by the way.

73' Williams dribbles past Alba, but can't go past the impeccable Busquets! Barca are extremely wasteful when in possession.

71' Ah, Gomes loses possession, but Garcia is too keen and his shot is well wide. Bilbao have seen 40% possession, a lot of it in the second half.

70' Denis is warming up. Barca sure need some width now. Bilbao's pressing in the middle has been immense.

69' Alba and Messi nearly combine on the left, but Benat puts a foot in to win the ball. Bilbao then start a counter but nothing comes of it! End to end now!

68' Substitution for Bilbao: Benat is on for San Jose.

67' Iturraspe puts in a brilliant cross, but it's not met by any Bilbao player! They're getting closer here...

66' Gomes and Suarez combined well and the latter is through after a smashing dribble past Laporte. But Nunez is there again to block the shot! Nearly, that cushion!

65' Chance for Bilbao! Messi is dispossessed by Lekue who finds Williams. The winger dribbles past one player, but his shot is straight at Ter Stegen!

63' Ah! Disappointing freekick, Barcelona untroubled. Goal kick. They still can't keep the ball, though!

63' Yellow card to Pique! Aduriz gets ahead of Pique and gets fouled. Dangerous position this!

62' Barca play it short and Rakitic puts in a smashing cross. Umtiti, trying to meet it, fouls Leka. Freekick to Bilbao.

61' Lekue again puts in a probing cross, cleared by Pique. Barca start a counter and Gomes's shot is blocked by Nunez!

60' It's been all Bilbao in the second half so far. Their intensity is admirable. Barca haven't been able to keep possession!

59' Ah, Aduriz! Not a good cross after being found well by Lekue. Well, he's a striker, isn't he?

58' The Williams vs Alba battle is intriguing. The former is getting the better of the latter a lot in the second half.

57' Garcia hoofs one for Williams to collect and his pace takes him there. Bad cross, though. Barca win the second ball and Rakitic is fouled by Cordoba.

56' Nunez is caught nastily by Suarez's heel. Inadvertently, it looks like. Thankfully he is back to his feet.

55' The wide men, Cordoba and Williams are very involved now. Barca need to watch out for those crosses! Williams' cross is nearly met by Aduriz. Ter Stegen did well to collect the ball there.

54' The ball ping-pongs around the Barca box and Garcia takes a shot! Just wide! Barca are giving away the ball too cheaply and Bilbao are very direct.

53' Chance for Bilbao from the corner! Garcia's header hits the crossbar! Ter Stegen was caught flat-footed there.

52' Bilbao are seeing a lot of the ball and put in a good cross. It was Williams with the cross. Corner.

50' Lekue does well to find Adiriz, but Barca crowd him out and start a counter. They win a throw-in. They need to calm the game a bit and keep possession.

49' Bilbao are back to their pressing game. San Jose is found well by Iturraspe, but Ter Stegen reads it well again and smothers the danger. Good keeping by the German.

48' A fracas in the Bilbao box there! Gomes is found by Messi, he isn't able to get his shot away though. Barca win the second ball and Paulinho's shot is blocked!

46' Bilbao get a corner but aren't able to make anything of it. Barca are in possession.

Second half is underway!

The Barcelona players celebrate an incredible team goal

And that's it! It's halftime. Wow, those 45 minutes have breezed through, no injury time. Athletic Bilbao have created a few chances, but Messi has again made the difference so far. You don't wanna miss this game.

45' Corner for Bilbao as Alba miscontrols! Suarez clears at the near post, though.