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#3 Pedri puts out another masterclass for Barcelona
Pedri has unarguably been the revelation of the season for Barcelona, and a case can be made to consider him among the best performing players in the entire league.
The 18-year-old has so far been one of Ronald Koeman's most trusted players and he showed why with another breathtaking performance in the middle of the park.
Having missed a gilt-edged header against Huesca on Sunday, Pedri made no mistake from six yards this time around, nodding into an empty net to draw Barcelona level at San Mames.
His ingenuity to set Messi up for the second belied his age and highlighted the growing connection between him and his captain. Meanwhile, the technique and sense of awareness needed to pull it off underlined the huge talent that he has.
Pedri was one of the best players on the field for Barcelona and ended the game with three key passes and a 90.2% passing accuracy.
Although it is still too early to start showering him with encomium, if the former Las Palmas man can continue with his impressive trajectory, it cannot be argued that he would be one to watch in the future.
#2 Unai Simon has a game to forget
Unai Simon emerged as the latest in a long-line of Athletic Bilbao-trained quality goalkeepers and is widely regarded as one of the best shot-stoppers in La Liga.
The 23-year-old has become established on the international stage in the last year and would fancy his chances of being Luis Enrique's first choice at the European Championship this summer.
Simon has, however, been off-colour this season, with some errors costing Athletic Bilbao points in some games.
Against Barcelona, he made two errors that led directly to goals, with his misjudgment leaving him caught out and allowing the visitors to go ahead in the game.
Athletic Bilbao started as the brighter of the two teams but Simon's error sucked the wind out of their pipe. Despite making some fine saves in the game, this fixture against Barcelona is not one that the Spain international will look back on fondly.
#1 Lionel Messi proves to be the difference-maker again
Having started the year with his 300th La Liga assist in what was his 500th game in the league, Lionel Messi was back among the goals in the victory over Athletic Bilbao.
It was his ambitious ball to the far post from 35 yards that set Barcelona on their way to getting the equaliser, while he got the goal that put his side ahead in the 38th minute.
Having been denied by the post and seen a goal ruled out for offside, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner got his brace with a well-taken strike in the 62nd minute before being denied a hat-trick by the post once again.
In what was a throwback to the Messi of old, the Rosario native was at his mercurial best and proved to be the difference-maker for Barcelona yet again. However, it was his error in midfield that allowed Athletic Bilbao to pull one goal back in the final minute.
Messi's brace takes him to nine goals for the season, level at the summit with Iago Aspas and Gerard Moreno, and the Barcelona talisman is odds-on favourite for a seventh Pichichi award.
Time and again, the Blaugrana skipper has been the difference for his club when it matters most. With him in this form, Barcelona would fancy their chances of getting a measure of redemption from this season.
