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Barcelona's perfect start to the season looks like a distant memory after dropping yet more points today, as Athletic Bilbao showed tremendous nerves to hold the champions at the Camp Nou. Manager Ernesto Valverde threw two big curveballs after dropping Messi and Busquets to the bench, and was made to pay for the same with a poor first-half.
Los Leones were in cruise control during the opening 45, while Oscar De Marcos put the visitors ahead just before half-time. But the introduction of Messi changed the complexion of the game in the second stanza as the hosts gained momentum and began dominating the proceedings as well as creating better opportunities.
However, it could only muster a late equaliser through another substitute Munir, who tapped home from point-blank range after a pinpoint delivery from Messi from the right.
The result extends Barcelona's winless streak in the league to three games now. Here are the three reasons behind a disappointing result:
#1 Valverde's bold decisions backfire
Valverde clearly had one eye on the upcoming Champions League tie against Tottenham Hotspur in mind. Whilst he'd be excused for putting the premium on a much bigger game, the changes he made weren't so thoughtful and his stratagems today lacked tact. For once, the absence of Sergio Busquets in the midfield allowed Bilbao to take the game to the mighty hosts. With no protective cover for the back four, the defence was all over the place while Raul Garcia was like a bull in a china shop.
Additionally, with no Messi leading the charge up front, the Blaugrana lacked the bite going forward. Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are a fearsome attacking triumvirate, but without the Argentine thaumaturge, there was no creativity in the final third despite hogging a lion's share of the possession. Coutinho once again played out of position while Suarez too had to drift out of his zone to get the ball or to lay crosses. So despite the urgency in the gameplay, the penetration wasn't clinical.
Without two of the most important players on the field, Barcelona struggled. And how.
#2 Athletic Bilbao's barnstorming first-half
To apportion Barcelona's hardships of the first-half solely on Valverde's tactical tweaks would be a criminal injustice to the efforts put in by Eduardo Berizzo's men. Set out in a daunting 4-2-3-1 shape, Bilbao pressed high from the word go and completely ran over Barcelona in the magical first 10 minutes, probably their best 10 minutes of the season so far.
The hosts were forced to play out from the back with patient passing but barely threatened during the opening exchanges. The Lions carved open the backline to create numerous opportunities in the first half, and should've been up by more than just 1-0 at the break.
Inaki Williams was a thorn in Barcelona's face with his constant runs in behind the defence, while Garcia, as aforementioned, was just terrific and single-handedly mauled the midfield battle. Oh, and Williams missed a sitter in the 10th minute too.
Bilbao were head and shoulders above the Blaugrana in the first half and always looked the likelier of the two to score first. And they did, right before the break when Marcos sneakily stole clear of the back four and acrobatically connected to Susaeta's cross to break the deadlock. The lead was very much deserved, but the only downside is that it should've been more than just one.
#3 All hail saviour Messi
Cometh the hour, cometh Lionel Messi. The Argentine wizard once again turned the tables on its head with a brilliant assist for Munir's equaliser and saved his side's beacon. He was quite off the mark in the season's first defeat to Leganes in the midweek shocker and was relegated to the bench today ahead of the all-important trip to London. And supposedly, he had enough of the shambolic display he was made to witness helplessly.
Messi came on in the 55th minute, and the impact was almost immediate. He picked out spaces in the midfield that his side otherwise couldn't until that point and started laying crosses to Coutinho and Dembele. Barcelona were more threatening than ever, and particularly, created more and better chances, with Messi at the heart of it all. He even hit the post in the 77th minute, but that was, in a retrospect, a sign of things to come.
You knew that if someone had to pull a rabbit out of the hat and rescue Barcelona, then it had to be the Argentine himself. And so he proved to be the talisman again - Messi saw off a challenge from his opposite number around the box on the right and laid off for Munir to equalise with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Barcelona were level, and even if a winner never came, at least avoided consecutive defeats.
