Bilbao 0-1 Barcelona: Raphinha Strikes to take Barca 9 points clear on top of table
Barcelona, the leaders of the La Liga, further cemented their position on the top of the league with a hard fought victory against Athletic Bilbao, away at San Mames Stadium , which proved to be vital in the La Liga standings, as the “Blaugranes” increased their gap from second placed Real Madrid by nine points.
Brazilian scores once again
Raphinha, who is proving to be a vital addition to the squad for Barcelona, has proved his mettle once again by scoring the winner just before the half time. In the absence of French winger Dembele, he is proving his worth in every game.
Although the goal was ruled offside for few minutes because of which the match was stalled for a bit, but match official Jesus Gil Manzano declared it goal.
Star striker back to in the fore
Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker and the highest scorer for Barcelona this season, started the game after missing few. His addition was a boost for the squad, who is on the verge of winning the title after years. Thus, it was very important for him to prove his efficiency in front of the goal. He was flanked by Raphinha and Ferran Torres on his sides.
Gavi at the rescue
Gavi, has been a midfield maestro in this season, pairing up with Pedri. He plays the game putting his life on the line. Yesterday , he put his head in front of the ball, which was about to be blasted by the player, thus winning the ball from him.
Opportunity to go in the front at the early stages
Barcelona had a huge opportunity to take an early lead against their opponents, but it was saved by Agirrezabala, who proved to be an ultimate wall in front of the goal for Athletic Club. He had saved few chances which proved to be useful once the match ended, as it had reduced the goal margin quite a bit.
Although it was Barcelona who dominated the game with their possession keeping hold of the ball for a majority of the game, it was Athletic who had the most shots on target, with five shots to their name, in response to Barcelona’s who had two shots on target, scoring one of them with a superb strike from Raphinha, assisted by none other than the captain, Sergio Busquets, who chipped the ball overhead of the Bilbao defenders. The Brazilian blasted the shot on the left side of the goal, which proved to be the winner.
Ter Stegen- the Great Wall of Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the German goalkeeper is in his best this season, outperforming himself in every match he has played. Out of the 25 league games this season, he has 19 clean sheets to his name, which is a league record in the recent years.
He does not allow any of the opponent strikers to pass the ball through his legs, and yesterday was not an exception either. He has become a beast this season. Even in the dying minutes of the game, he saved a shot from Inaki Williams, which proved to be victorious for Barcelona, thus increasing the gap between Real Madrid by nine points.
Athletic had a shot ruled out due to a handball evidence by Iker Muniain in the build up for the goal.
