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Real Madrid's newly bloomed title aspirations receive further fuel as Athletic Bilbao hold defending champions Barcelona to a goalless stalemate at the San Mames with the gap at the top now trimmed to only six points.
Having registered an emphatic derby victory a day earlier, the onus was on Blaugrana to riposte, but a resilient performance from the hosts nullified Messi and the likes. Make no mistake, the Lions could've even sprung a surprise with a win, but came a cropper in the final third by wasting a few good chances.
As for the visitors, their attack was no better. In fact, it was worse than Bilbao's, registering only two shots on target, and hence deservedly fired a blank, for the very first time in the league this season.
But despite the lack of goals, it was nerve-wracking and end-to-end stuff. Here are the hits and flops from the match:
#1 Hit: Marc-Andre Ter Stegan
Every once in a blue moon, you have somebody from the Barcelona team who'd outshine Lionel Messi with a truly outstanding display. And Ter Stegan was one such player today with a heroic performance to literally save his side's beacon.
The German shot-stopper was quick on the uptake, acting expeditiously in every moment of danger and frustrating Bilbao with his interventions. He never hesitated to charge out of his line to collect a looping ball, or punch it out of the harm's way. Having made five saves on the night, his best moment though, came early on when he tipped Markel Susaeta long-range howitzer over the bar with a jaw-dropping lunge.
Ter Stegan was relatively restrained after the break, but when Bilbao upped the ante towards the final throes of the match, he was once again on hand to cope with the pressure. In the 82nd minute particularly, the 26-year old palmed away Inaki Williams' effort for a corner and averted Bilbao's possible late winner.
Without him in goal today, Barcelona would have rather left San Mames with tails between their legs.
#2 Flop: Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez has been a great addition to Barcelona since the mega-money move from Liverpool in 2014, scoring 168 goals in 228 appearances in all competitions and helping the side to innumerable trophies. However, Ol' Father Time seems to now catch up with him.
El Pistolero has struck only twice in the last eight games across the league and the Copa Del Rey, and it's equally distributed across the two competitions. He's been admittedly off the boil these days and cut another stinker at the San Mames.
Forget scoring a goal, Suarez didn't even muster a single effort on target. He was a mere passenger for most of the night as Messi once again did all the dirty work. The Uruguayan ace made only 45 touches on the ball - the least amongst any outfield Barcelona player, and also misplaced as many as 10 passes.
He never looked like scoring today, and in his best chance, headed a perfectly weighted Messi cross off target with a weak effort. This version of Suarez is a far cry from the one that tore Real Madrid apart earlier in the season with a hat-trick.
#3 Hit: Raul Garcia
Athletic Bilbao's chief orchestrator, Raul Garcia turned in an impressive performance as the attacking midfielder. He was a relentless source of opportunities for his side, a constant threat to the visitors, and also helping out at the back when on backfoot.
In the first-half when Los Leones were the better side, Garcia was the beneficiary of two good chances. Firstly, he connected well with a cross inside the area and tried a scissor-kick that was saved well by Ter Stegan, then fired an effort just wide off the post although that took a deflection off Sergi Roberto while on its way out of play.
Even though the former Atletico Madrid midfielder couldn't pile on in the attack much after the break, he nonetheless made his presence felt at the back. In all, he won 10 aerial duels and also completed five successful tackles, both of which are the highest in the game.
Garcia's physicality gave the mighty Barcelona a tough time, and would only be hard-pressed not to have won the man of the match award despite such a terrific all-round performance.
#4 Flop: Inaki Williams
Truth to be told, it would be very harsh to deem Inaki Williams' performance tonight as a 'flop' or even disappointing, for he was a thorn in the face of the visitors with his presence in the box and predatory movements. However, Williams squandered two gilt-edged opportunities and a half-chance in the second-half that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
Having failed to connect with Inigo Martinez's cross early on, Williams, in the 79th minute, showed tremendous pace to race clear of his marker and thrust himself into the air to connect with Iker Muniain's whipped delivery, but lacked the cutting edge to arrow it home from agonizingly close range.
Just three minutes later, the Spanish youngster once again picked out a pass from Muniain, scampered a few steps upfield, and lashed a shot straight at the palms of Ter Stegan. That was Bilbao's biggest moment to find a winner, and Williams' frustrations at throwing away that opportunity was made clear by his expressions.
Fact of the matter is, he isn't a natural striker. Just a converted winger. And starting him as a striker in this game was just a desperate measure taken up by manager Gaizka Garitano in the absence of an out-and-out striker for the game. But Williams showed it wasn't the most successful one.
#5 Flop: Arturo Vidal
Since his stunning move from Bayern Munich last summer, Arturo Vidal has produced no great shakes for all the fanfare he arrived to the Catalan capital with. He did manage to the net once in the Clasico humiliation of Real Madrid, but that's one of the only two strikes he's accrued so far. He has also started only 11 league games, suggesting he may not have acclimatized to new surroundings after all.
Against Bilbao, the Chilean international was once again below par. With nary a contribution in the attack, Vidal also gave the ball away cheaply and was easily eclipsed in the midfield by his counterparts. The 31-year old could muster just a single effort, but even that was so feeble it sailed off target without ruffling any feathers.
Manager Ernesto Valverde was touted to play Malcolm again after his match-saving equaliser against Los Blancos in the midweek Cup game. But the decision to replace him with Vidal certainly backfired. Perhaps his best bits in the game were only winning three aerial duels, as there was little else that can be said about his game with eulogy.
Hereafter, the latter must prove himself to warrant a place in the starting XI.
