La Liga 2017/18; Athletic Bilbao 0-2 FC Barcelona: 5 Talking Points

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 FC Barcelona

Goals: Lionel Messi 36', Paulinho 90+2'

FC Barcelona huffed and puffed their way to victory over Athletic Bilbao in testing conditions at the San Mames Stadium. Bilbao were all over the Catalans in the second half, but were left to rue their missed chances at the end. Lionel Messi scored the first just after the half-hour mark, finishing the move which was started by him some 30-35 yards out.

Paulinho added a second in stoppage time to finish a counter-attacking move when Bilbao had committed men forward in search of an equalizer. All three points mean FC Barcelona have regained their four-point lead at the top over Valencia and on that note, here are the 5 talking points from an exciting game between Bilbao and Barcelona from the Basque country:

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#1 Paulinho's influence is growing with each passing game

An odd transfer surprisingly working out

His €40 million move from Guangzhou Evergrande had been criticized by almost everyone but the box-to-box midfielder is slowly showing that he belongs to perform at the highest level.

Paulinho has been brilliant going forward and has chipped in with timely goals so far in the season. Against Bilbao, his final minute goal sealed the deal for Barcelona and rounded another impressive outing for the Brazilian.

PAULINHO vs Bilbao:Goals: 1Hit woodwork: 1Pass success: 86%Successful dribbles: 4/4Duels won: 9Tackles won: 23 goals for FCB now. ? pic.twitter.com/zGuv0qt6vO

— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) October 28, 2017

The aspect of his play which is pleasing to the eye is his link-up play with Lionel Messi. Paulinho and the little genius seem to have formed a good working relationship and it shows on the field.

The one-two between the two was a crucial part of the buildup to the first goal. A player like Paulinho does not look like an ideal fit for a team like FC Barcelona, but somehow, it is working out for all the parties involved.

#2 Unai Nunez impresses for Athletic Bilbao

Nunez was the best Athletic player on the field

Despite being on the losing side, Athletic Bilbao can credit themselves for a fighting performance throughout the 90 minutes. Bilbao's second-half performance was probably their best in the league so far and a crucial player to this impressive display was the centre-back, Unai Nunez.

The 20-year-old has become a regular for this Bilbao side and he was simply outstanding against the Catalans. Nunez and Laporte reduced Barcelona to a few chances on goal and it was Nunez's timely interceptions and understanding of the time which kept Bilbao in the game until stoppage time.

The centre-back lost just one duel on the night and made 3 clearances. Continuing his good form in the season (the youngster has a Squawka rating of 157 this season), Nunez gave a commanding performance against arguably his toughest opponents till date.

Nunez was solely responsible for Luis Suarez having such a quiet night. Performances like these mean the big players in Europe will be looking closely at the progress made by the 20-year-old.

#3 Marc-Andre ter Stegen to the rescue

A man in fine form

In a tough away game, when a team does not perform at the desired levels attack-wise, you need your keeper to be at his finest to keep you in the game for as long as possible. This is exactly what happened with FC Barcelona and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Criticism has never been far away from the German sweeper keeper but this season, the custodian has truly been able to change perceptions.

He made two fine saves against Bilbao to keep Barcelona in the hunt at a daunting place. Ter Stegen kept Aritz Aduriz out with a fine one on one save in the first half and then stopped his well-timed header from a corner. His distribution was top class as usual, be it the short cute passes or the big lob beyond the centre circle.

The German has let in just four goals in the league and in Europe this season (in 13 matches) and is on course for a stellar season after being one of the best in the win over Bilbao.

#4 The Ernesto Valverde derby

Ernesto Valverde faced off against his former side for the first time

Valverde returned to the place which got him the coveted Barcelona job. The Spaniard has taken charge of 306 Athletic Bilbao games in his two spells as manager and returned to San Mames to a thunderous applause.

Valverde has settled well to life at Barcelona after the 2-0 win over his former side was his ninth league win of the season. The Catalans have now gone 17 league matches unbeaten, winning 16 along the way.

But it is at Athletic Bilbao, where the importance of Ernesto Valverde has increased manifolds since his departure. Bilbao have won just one of their last 11 matches; a return simply not good enough for a La Liga top dog.

Bilbao may fall off to 16th in the rankings this weekend if the other results do not go their way. The Valverde derby went in the way of the manager's new club with his former club looking down the barrel at the moment without their master tactician.

#5 Lionel Messi and the woodwork - a recurring theme

Messi scored his 16th goal of the season

The Argentine sensation got on the score sheet yet again (And in other news, the sky is blue and grass is green) to notch up his 16th goal of the season. This was his 37th La Liga goal of the calendar year - 17 more than his nearest competitor.

Now to this gigantic goalscoring feat, add the fact that Lionel Messi has already struck the woodwork 10 times this season and you will be in for a shock.

We have just reached the end of October and the Barcelona talisman has already achieved double figures in this aspect as well. Against Bilbao, he could have finished off a fine team move when he rounded the Athletic keeper Kepa with one touch and took the shot with another.

But, his shot brushed the post and went out. He made amends just a few minutes later, but his tally of 10 shots off the woodwork goes on to show how deadly of a force he still is for FC Barcelona.