· 2 min readIn this Barcelona vs Athletic Club match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
The second matchday of La Liga already brought a big clash, but the recent history between Barcelona and Athletic Club leaves very little room for doubt. In their last five meetings, Barcelona had won all five, scored 15 goals and Athletic hadn’t managed to score a single one. After four consecutive defeats, much more was needed from the Basques.
Barcelona started as expected, with plenty of possession and control of the game, but created practically nothing. It was 23 minutes in which literally nothing happened. Until Raphinha appeared to head a cross and hit the post. It was the first real sign of danger.
Athletic defended in a 4-4-2 and remained completely stuck in their own half. In the 29th minute, Pedri even scored, but the goal was ruled out for Yamal’s offside at the start of the move.
In the 38th minute, Barcelona finally found the goal. Pedri played an absurd ball into Raphinha’s run, leaving him one-on-one with Unai Simón. The Brazilian pulled the ball wide, left the goalkeeper on the floor and calmly finished. 1-0.
Athletic still hadn’t managed a shot on target and only attempted their first shot in the 40th minute, from a long way out and with no danger.
Barcelona could have extended their lead before half-time. Bernal won the ball, carried it forward and found Yamal, who hit a good shot, but Unai Simón made an incredible save. The youngster had to score, but Athletic’s goalkeeper saved his team.
The second half started with more danger from Barcelona. Raphinha found Gordon in behind, but the Englishman shot too high. Raphinha, by the way, was doing an excellent job as a false 9, very mobile and constantly appearing in different areas.
Yamal hit the crossbar in the 53rd minute and Barcelona continued to completely dominate. They reached 73% possession in the second half and, shortly afterwards, Rodri finally made his official debut for the club. Athletic looked like a small team, completely dependent on defending, and at one point Barcelona had 78% possession in the second half.
But there was a problem: 1-0 is always dangerous and Athletic finally showed some signs of life. Sancet headed over and, in the 75th minute, hit the post after a mistake from Eric García. Suddenly, Barcelona had reasons to worry.
In the 82nd minute, however, the discussion was over. Adeyemi carried the ball down the left and played a low ball into the box. Laporte tried to clear it, but completely messed it up, practically offering the ball into his own net. Fermín López only had to accept the gift and make it 2-0.
Unai Simón still prevented more goals. In the 83rd minute, he made another absurd save and, in the 87th, denied Adeyemi again after a beautiful pass from Yamal. If it weren’t for the Spanish goalkeeper, this could have ended 5-0 or 6-0.
Post-match
Barcelona won with absolute justice, although they were guilty of being too wasteful. Athletic were far too poor for almost the entire game and rarely showed any ability to compete. And honestly, if Unai Simón hadn’t put in a performance at this level, the difference would have been much bigger.
