Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match
Barcelona got their 2015-16 La Liga campaign off to a winning start Sunday, overcoming Athletic Bilbao 1-0.
Luis Suarez's close-range volley in the 54th minute was enough to separate the two sides, but the match was almost overshadowed by injuries to Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets.
Though the Blaugrana were far from their best Sunday, they will be relieved to have claimed all three points and gained revenge for their 4-0 humiliation at the San Mames in the Spanish Super Cup earlier in August.
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Barcelona began the match with Thomas Vermaelen and Javier Mascherano as their central defensive pair in Gerard Pique's absence, while Rafinha occupied Neymar's slot in the front three with Pedro now at Chelsea.
The match got off to an inauspicious start, with Barca content to dominate possession without showing any tangible attacking intent. The Blaugrana suffered an early blow as Alves was forced off with an injury in the 19th minute, per Barca's official Twitter account.
Bilbao somewhat rode their luck shortly after Alves' departure when Gorka Elustondo handballed Lionel Messi's header inside the area, but the Spaniard's luck soon ran out, as he was rightly penalised for a trip on Suarez just minutes later.
However, the Blaugrana could not take advantage of the resulting spot-kick, as Gorka Iraizoz saved Messi's low effort.
As football journalist Dermot Corrigan illustrated, the Argentinian's record from penalties is not as good as one might expect:
Barca struggled to create any real chances of note following the penalty, save for a mishit shot from Suarez that rebounded only for Rafinha to fire wide.
Corrigan neatly summarised the proceedings at the break, while WhoScored illustrated Barca's control of the possession:
The visitors were finally able to partner their dominance of the ball with some meaningful penetration in the second half, going ahead through Suarez nine minutes after the restart.
Andres Iniesta found Jordi Alba down the left wing, and the Spaniard picked out the unmarked Uruguayan perfectly with his first-time cross for Suarez to volley emphatically into the roof of the net.
The Blaugrana almost doubled their lead just three minutes later when Roberto's marauding run into the area saw him launch a venomous effort onto the crossbar.
As football journalist Rafael Hernandez noted, the makeshift Roberto performed well in his new position:
"Sergi Roberto playing like he’s Maldini’s son and Suárez scoring a fantastic goal. The rollercoaster that is Barcelona.
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) August 23, 2015"
Worryingly for Barca, Busquets was forced off in the 66th minute, according to their Twitter account. Corrigan reported the midfielder went "over on his ankle" and was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Bleacher Report's own Rik Sharma believes the injuries will hinder the Catalan giants in light of their transfer ban:
The Blaugrana were able to see out the rest of the game unscathed, though, and while Athletic threatened to score an equaliser, some no-nonsense defending from Vermaelen and a lack of ruthlessness in the final third ensured Barca held on.
Barcelona shared the match's stats after the final whistle, highlighting their overall superiority over Athletic:
Barca face Malaga and Atletico Madrid in their next two league fixtures, so it will be important for them to have Alves and Busquets back sooner rather than later.
However, Roberto's surprisingly impressive performance at right-back will serve as encouragement to manager Luis Enrique, while Sergi Samper is a ready-made replacement for Busquets in midfield.
Post-Match Reaction
Per Barcelona's Twitter feed, Suarez expressed his delight at the win:
According to Barca's official website, Enrique was similarly happy with not only the result but the performance as well: "I think we started the [La Liga] championship the way we did last season, at a very high level. We kept Athletic from creating danger and I think we played a very complete match."
He added: "We have to wait and see what the doctors say and see how the players come along. Injuries are part of football, it's a very demanding sport there is more risk [early in the season]. They don't seem serious."
