'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barcelona celebrated skipper Lionel Messi's birthday with a late kickoff against Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday night. The Catalan giants had to be patient to unlock a superbly-drilled Basque defence, and a failure in doing so could have eliminated them from the title race. Their ambitions of LaLiga glory took a severe hit after their disappointing 0-0 draw away at Sevilla.
Fortunately, however, that wasn't the case in tonight's encounter. With the game stuck at 0-0, a frantic battle for the ball just ahead of the Bilbao box led to Lionel Messi receiving the ball in the 71st minute. As the Argentine tried to turn away from the onrushing defender, the ball was bundled into the path of a fresh Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian smashed the ball into the roof of the away goal and sealed the points for Barcelona.
There were moments when the away side looked threatening and amped up their efforts, particularly in the last 20 minutes. Inaki Williams was through on goal and had to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen to give Athletic the lead. The Spaniard, however, fluffed his lines at arguably the best chance for the away time through the 90 minutes.
Iker Muniain and Raul Garcia came off the bench and made a difference for Athletic in the final third. It was all in vain at the end as Quique Setien's title hopes remain intact after a narrow win. Now, they anxiously await Real Madrid's result against Real Mallorca on Wednesday night.
Let's take a look at five hits and flops from the game as Barcelona remain within touching distance of Real Madrid.
1. Hit: Ivan Rakitic
Rakitic was brought on by Setien for the last third of the game in place of a tired Sergio Busquets. The Croatian was part of a string of substitutions made as Barcelona were running out of time into muster up a goal — and Rakitic did precisely that.
Just six minutes after he was subbed on, the Barcelona midfielder found himself deep into Athletic's half. As the away side were set to break on the counter, Rakitic won the ball found Lionel Messi in space ahead of him and continued his run. After a deflection from Messi, the ball found its way to an onrushing Rakitic who made no mistake from within Athletic's six-yard box. He emphatically thumped the ball past Unai Simon, giving the Spaniard no hope of keeping it out.
Barcelona have openly attempted to get Rakitić off their books, and he responded with a clutch goal. In fact, it was his first goal since March 2019 when he scored against Real Madrid. It certainly was a memorable night for the World Cup finalist. The 32-year-old vowed to fight for the title after the match, boldly claiming;
"We're going to fight this to the very end. Real Madrid will think about what they need to do, we will think about what we need to do. We will get more confidence from this win and hopefully we can fight for this title to the very end."
2. Flop: Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez failed to make his presence felt through his 84 minutes on the pitch, and could have (or should have) given Barcelona the lead. The enigmatic Uruguayan had a string of opportunities, some of which one would expect Suarez to put away with relative ease. The first half, in particular, saw him being thwarted by the Atheltic defence on a handful of occasions. He was sent through on goal by Messi several times throughout the first 45 minutes.
The 33-year-old managed three shots on the night, the most by any player on the pitch bar his skipper, only one of which was on target. It was a tame attempt which didn't trouble Unai Simon in the slightest. It was, by all means, an anonymous showing from the Barcelona veteran.
Although he's just returning from a rather severe injury and still needs time to hit top gear, it was a forgettable night for him at the Nou Camp. Suarez is far from his best and could potentially need to be rested against Celta Vigo over the weekend.
3. Hit: Lionel Messi
While the man of the moment might not have had his greatest nights at the iconic Camp Nou, it was enough for them to seal three points on his 33rd birthday. The Barcelona captain was the driving force in the Catalans' final third. Simply put, virtually everything positive that Barcelona attempted was via the Argentine, bar the odd run from Riqui Puig (more on him later).
Barcelona's talisman attempted seven shots on the night, along with five key passes, six attempted crosses and a whopping ten dribbles. Needless to say, every single one of these were the most attempted by any player on the pitch and more than Athletic's starting XI's attempts combined.
Although he would've wanted to mark his birthday with a trademark Lionel Messi goal, it just wasn't meant to be for the 33-year-old. He breached the right side of Athletic's defence on numerous occasions to cut onto his left foot and unleash venomous strikes. None of them ultimately found the target but he came mighty close to breaking the deadlock several times.
Whether or not his 'assist' to Rakitic was intentional or not, it was his fifteenth of the league season and 250th of his Barcelona career.
4. Flop: Arthur
After being in the news for the last couple of days amidst massive interest from Juventus, it was a surprise to see Arthur in the Barcelona starting line up. To be fair to the Brazilian, he was tidy in possession and kept circulating the ball in the middle. Unfortunately, he didn't really go beyond doing that.
He didn't provide the drive or the impetus to carry the Barcelona midfield forward. The former Gremio man was hooked in favour of Puig, and the 20-year-old delivered what Arthur was expected to provide. In his 55-minute stay on the pitch, he completed 70 passes but was mostly ineffective. None of those passes broke the lines and caused Athletic any real discomfort.
It remains to be seen if Arthur prolongs his stay at the Nou Camp beyond the end of the current season. That being said, he certainly has little time to waste during his stay as he hopes to convince Barcelona. If the reports from today are anything to go by, he could very well be playing at the Allianz Stadium next season.
5. Hit: Riqui Puig
The one word that perhaps best describes Puig's performance in the middle of the pitch would be 'gamechanger'. The Barcelona youth product was brought onto the pitch in place of Arthur on the 55-minute mark and changed the course of the game for them. The Spaniard was vibrant with the ball at his feet and showed great drive and creative flair.
He drove into Athletic's defensive third on several occasions. Puig looked to find his captain Lionel Messi in advanced areas more and more as the game progressed and succeeded in upping the tempo of a static Barcelona midfield.
It was a cultured and surprisingly mature performance from the 20-year-old, and something for Setien to ponder over for the remainder of the season. Given Frenkie de Jong's injury and the cruel pressure of the title race, Puig could offer Barcelona's midfield the spark it needs. He did his growing reputation absolutely no harm with an eye-catching display against the Basque club.
