Match Review : Athletic Bilbao vs FC Barcelona (0-0)

Barca had a chance to make their season more interesting tonight.

If they won, they’d overtake Girona for 2nd place in La Liga, while slashing Real Madrid’s lead over them to just 6 points. Anything other than that would’ve counted as a missed opportunity.

Let’s see how Barca fared in the mighty San Mamés.

First half

The first half was about as lifeless as you can imagine.

Just like last time, Athletico’s intensity and relentless drive made life difficult for Barca, especially in the midfield where Barca just couldn’t consistently find copious amounts of space to operate.

Due to that, Barca couldn’t function attacking wise. Wide play wasn’t encouraging either, as both Joao Cancelo and Raphinha couldn’t make a difference on both flanks. Although Cancelo looked more active than Raphinha, but again, it didn’t matter results wise for what its worth.

In reality, the big stories in the first half were the two injuries that occurred in Barca’s midfield.

Frenkie De Jong had to be carted off inside of 30 minutes, after he turned his ankle. The injury happened after he came down from an aerial duel, in which his ankle turned pretty badly.

He was taken off and Fermin Lopez replaced him, but the damage was already done. Down their best carrier, the responsibilities now fell on the lap of Ilkay Gundogan, who somehow had to replace Frenkie’s carrying while maintaining his normal role as the midfield’s general.

But his job was made harder when his remaining difference making midfield mate went down with an injury as well.

Pedri pulled a muscle — apparently, not confirmed — after a normal pass making motion towards the end of the first half. He went off the pitch in tears, signaling yet another heartbreaking muscle injury, a development Pedri has gone through far too many times in recent seasons.

The first half came to an end, with injuries being the big story and masking Barca’s woeful display in the attack. 0-0 was the score and it felt like any positive air had been sucked out the building due to the midfield being decimated by injuries.

We’d see if the second half would provide any changes, but optimism was low.

Second half

The second half wasn’t much different, if not worse.

Barca’s attacking play got noticeably worse in the second 45 minutes, mostly because any play through the midfield was met with immediate resistance from Athletico’s press.

This forced play to be pushed out wide more times than not, leading to isolated dribbling situations that didn’t result in much. To be totally respectful though, Athletico defended very well in 1v1 situations, but they defended well in general, staying connected and engaged.

On the other hand, Barca’s defense had their moments of panic, but they found ways out of trouble.

There isn’t much to say here, I wish there was but there isn’t.

Barca couldn’t get anything going in the attack, absolutely nothing. And as the match went on, you just couldn’t believe how lifeless Barca looked going forward. Maybe they were just tired, maybe a couple opportunities were missed, but goodness there was nothing going for Barca.

Just nothing.

The match ended 0-0, as Barca missed a chance to gain on Girona and Real Madrid, while losing two of their most valuable players in the process.

What a shame.

Final word

I mean what else can you say?

Barca missed a chance to gain on the top 2 in La Liga, while losing two of their best midfielders at the same time. To make matters worse, Xavi confirmed that both injuries look serious, putting their near status in complete doubt and their future status in serious doubt as well.

This not only complicates their now dead La Liga hopes, but it makes their Champions League endeavors very difficult as well.

Just a tough night that’ll lead to more, barring some unforeseen development.

Barca’s next match

Barca’s next match will be on Friday night, as they welcome Mallorca to the Montjuic.

See you all then!