Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Barcelona: Blaugrana Drop To Second

Barca will head into El Clasico behind Real Madrid, after they let a lead slip against Bilbao.

Nov 21, 2009 5:52:56 PM

More On :  Barcelona
Lionel Messi, Carlos Gurpegi, Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona (Getty Images)


Barcelona were without Eric Abidal, Yaya Toure, Rafael Marquez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so Pedro, Sergi Busquets, Maxwell and Dmytro Chygrynskiy made their way into the starting line-up, with Carles Puyol on the bench. Athletic, meanwhile, were pleased to be able to include Fernando Llorente and Yeste.

Bilbao have had a torrid time against Barca of late, but they started with confidence, peppering Barca with crosses and corners. The Blaugrana were playing on the counter early on, with Lionel Messi and Pedro looking threatening.


On 15 minutes, Barca created the first clear cut chance of the game when Xavi found Messi with a sublime through ball, but La Pulga's shot was well saved by Gorka Iraizoz. The Argentine was getting heavily involved, and minutes later his cross was headed inches wide by Seydou Keita.

Barca were dominating possession and looking threatening, and they came close again on the half hour, when Messi did brilliantly to stay on his feet under pressure and bring the ball into the box, but Xavi could only turn his cross over the bar after sliding onto it. There was plenty of spectacular build up play, but the visitors were clearly missing a genuine striker to finish their chances.

The Blaugrana were the only side who looked like scoring, but then, with the last kick of the game, Yeste swung a cross in to the far post, leaving Javi Martinez with the simple task of heading into the net from a yard out. Somehow, the midfielder managed to nod it wide, sinking his head into his hands as the teams went into the break level.

The second half started in the same vein, but this time Barca managed to find their finishing boots. On 53 minutes, Xavi played another perfect through ball, this time finding Daniel Alves on the end of it, who calmly slotted home from the right edge of the box. It was the Brazilian's first league goal of the season, and well worth the wait.

Joaquin Caparros responded immediately, taking Pablo Orbaiz off and replacing him with Toquero. Athletic immediately looked more threatening, and the substitute had an immediate impact on the hour mark. A long ball was headed on into his path by Llorente, and Toquero made no mistake in smashing the ball into the roof of the net to bring the sides level.

The goal seemed to blunt Barca's attacking pressure, and Athletic were playing with renewed confidence. The Blaugrana still had enough individual quality to make a difference though, and Andres Iniesta came close after skipping past two players, before firing wide.

Having made one successful substitution, Caparros then introduced Igor Gabilondo for Yeste. With 15 minutes remaining, Pep Guardiola decided to take Lionel Messi off ahead of Barca's crucial week, replacing him with Bojan. The changes were coming thick and fast, as Llorente made way for Oscar De Marcos.

With just over ten minutes remaining, Gerard Pique came close, heading Xavi's corner just over the bar. Barca's influential midfielder was then replaced by Thierry Henry, who received plenty of boos upon his arrival.

It was all Barca during the closing stages, but Athletic's defense was resilient, and they managed to hold on to claim a valuable point, one which means Real Madrid lead the standing ahead of El Clasico.

Arjun Miglani, Goal.com

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