Thanks to a strong performance by ex-Dortmunder Ousmane Dembélé, FC Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 (3-0) before the duel with FC Bayern in the Champions League in La Liga and returned to leaders Real Madrid open minded.
The France international was directly involved in all four goals and helped the Catalans set things straight in the first half.
With national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen in goal, Barca made everything clear early on. Dembélé (12th) took the lead himself, assisted by star striker Robert Lewandowski.
Six minutes later, Dembélé scored the second goal through Sergi Roberto (18′) and then returned the favor with his second assist from Lewandowski (22′). Substitute Ferran Torres (80th) used Dembele’s third assist to make the final decision.
Without the injured Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Real was initially six points ahead with a 3-1 (1-0) win against Sevilla FC. The Catalans reduced the gap to three points with their win.
The victory for Barcelona was marred by two injuries before the Champions League duel on Wednesday against Bayern Munich (9 p.m. / DAZN). Youngster Gavi had to be substituted in the 34th minute with a groin injury. Goalscorer Sergi Roberto was sent off in the final stages after injuring his shoulder when he tried to slide.