FC Barcelona move closer to La Liga title with easy win against Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona continued their dominance in La Liga as they cruised to victory against Athletic Bilbao at home. Even without Luis Suarez up front, the Blaugrana seemed comfortable with their gameplay and passing.

First half:

Paco Alcacer gave Barcelona the lead as early as the eighth minute with a neat finish passing the ball into the net off a cross from left back Jordi Alba. Messi was at the heart of the move, he danced past the Bilbao defence before laying the ball off to Jordi Alba, who cut the ball back to Alcacer to finish.

Dominating possession right from the start, Barca could have easily added to their goal tally. Another cross by Alba landed to Philippe Coutinho minutes later, but his effort crashed back off the crossbar. The Athletic Club defence was haywire and out of possession throughout the half; they did not know how to deal with the avalanche of attacks from the home team.

Messi already had a couple of glimpses at goal, but on the 30th-minute mark, he finally got on the score sheet. Ousmane Dembele sighted Messi on top of the box and Messi being Messi, scored with a powerful drive to the left of Bilbao keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The woodwork was on Athletic’s side as it came to their rescue time and again while Coutinho saw his effort bounce off the crossbar once more just before the half-time whistle.

Bilbao rarely had any attacks on the Barcelona goal, as for major portions of the half the ball was in their side itself as the hosts held 58 percent possession.

Second half:

Athletic Bilbao came out a different side, as they seemed to be more organised at the back and looked aggressive in attack too. Jose Angel Ziganda's side failed to register a single shot during the first half, but it took them less than a minute to correct that statistic after the restart when Inigo Lekue got through a challenge but managed to drag his finish wide of the target.

With Inaki Williams and Aritz Aduriz coming on to assist in attack, they helped in creating chances but unfortunately could not get through this stubborn Barca defence. The Basque Country side had a free kick taken by Aritz Aduriz in the 86th minute that Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to punch out, but they could not break through.

Holding the lead, Barcelona slowed down the game and began the knock the ball around at their leisure.

Valverde got on Iniesta to assist the midfield and take control of the game so that they could cruise to victory. Aleix Vidal and Andre Gomes came on during the half to get some game time.

With recent speculations after Gomes admitting he has not had the best experience during his time at the Camp Nou outfit, the crowd cheered him on as he took to the field and showed their support towards him.

The fans obviously wanted to see more goals, and the Blaugrana obliged with their efforts in attack. Athletic keeper Kepa saved a few shots and the rest of the efforts could not find the back of the net. Sitting in the driver’s seat throughout the game, Barcelona came out with an easy victory at the end and continue to dominate La Liga moving closer to being crowned champions.

Takeaways from the game

Even in defeat, a performance like the second half should make the visitors feel proud. With the remainder of the season and tough games coming up against Celta Vigo, Villarreal, and Real Madrid, Bilbao can look to take away points if they can replicate this performance.

Well, Barcelona were never in danger in losing their unbeaten record and especially at home with the kind of form, they have been in. Even with a make-shift midfield, mastermind Ernesto Valverde has proven the depth in this Barcelona squad and he continues to be unbeaten this season in La Liga.

Lionel Messi scored for the sixth consecutive game in all competitions. He also reached 25 league goals for the ninth consecutive season and extended his goal tally to 35 in all competitions.