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A brace from Neymar deep inside the second half was enough to hand Barcelona their third successive win as they beat a resilient Athletic Bilbao side 2-0 at home. The Blaugranas put up a lacklustre perfromance and it was only after the introduction of Neymar that they gained the required momentum in their play. As Barcelona cemented their place at the top of the La Liga table, we discuss the 5 major talking points from the game.
#1 Bilbao\'s stern defence made Barca slog
Although it was a tricky fixture, Barcelona were expected to pull off a comfortable win at home. However, it was quite contrasting to the pre-game expectations as they were made to work their fingers to the bone for they struggled to break down an obdurate Bilbao defence and had a tough time creating chances.
Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz saved off the efforts from Pedro, Rakitic and Munir early in the first half and also denied Jordi Alba’s low effort at the hour mark whereas the19-year old Bilbao defender, Aymeric Laporte, thwarted Messi’s effort early on.
Los Leones made it difficult for Barca to find a breakthrough and were also able to contain Messi for much part of the game. All in all, despite the defeat, the visitors had a better a game than the home side, who looked spineless until Neymar was subbed in.
Athletic Bilbao may have lost the game, but left with their heads held high.
#2 Barcelona were highly underwhelming despite victory
Although the Azulgranas got away with complete 3 points, they seemed to have lost the cutting-edge and squandered several goalscoring opportunities.
Statistics wise, the hosts completely dominated the game. With 61% ball possession, they had a total of 15 shots, 8 of which were on target and had a passing accuracy of 85%.
Barcelona’s 19-year old La Masia graduate, Munir, was at the receiving end of an array of chances but couldn’t find the net, although on one occasion, he may have been on the receiving end of a harsh offside decision. Messi too, found it hard to penetrate the opposition defence, although he created several opportunities.
It was only after introduction of Neymar that the home side burst into life, but at the end of the day, Barcelona’s performance turned out to be a damp squib.
#3 Messi will have to wait to get his 400th goal
From the time Messi joined the senior team back in 2004 to this day, the 27-year old maestro has accrued a whooping 398 goals (including preseasons) for the Catalans and holds the honour of scoring the highest number of goals for a single team in Europe.
The Argentinian captain has been ruling La Liga for a decade now and has made countless number of records in the process.
Messi was desperately trying to add 2 more to that tally in this fixture but however, failed to do so. The 4-time Ballon d’Or winner will now have to wait until Tuesday to reach the milestone, when Barcelona take on Cyprus outfit, APOEL in the group stages of this years’s Champions League
#4 Has Neymar finally adjusted to life at Barcelona?
The Brazilian international moved to Spain last season and was hyped to be the next big thing in Catalan colors. But Neymar came up short and couldn’t quite live up to the expectations. His first season at the top tier of Spanish football was marred by injuries , which kept him subdued from hitting top form whereas some of his best performances came only in the absence of Messi.
But this campaign, he has made 2 appearances, coming on as a substitute on both the occassions. But his arrival on the pitch against Bilbao changed the dynamics of the game as he bagged a brace in just 5 minutes and saved his team from the blushes.
Neymar ran cleverly ran onto Messi’s threaded pass and slotted home the first goal whereas his second came off a cross from the Argentine again, who found Neymar unmarked and the latter easily slotted into the right corner.
What’s left to see is whether the Brazilian can keep the rhythm going or whether it was just a flash in the pan.
#5 Barca take a significant lead in the table
After 3 rounds of La Liga, the Catalans remain the only team unbeaten and occupy the pole position with 9 points out of a possible 9.
The other 2 teams competing for the title- Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, contested the derby at Santiago Bernabeu later during the day and Atletico churned out a shocking but well deserved victory over the hosts, who have now lost 2 of their opening 3 games.
Los Colchoneros climbed to 2nd position and are now trailing the table-toppers, Barcelona, with 2 points.
