45.+2
9:53 p.m
Half-time conclusion:
No goals have been scored yet in the duel between FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. From the start, the guests demonstrated their courageous approach and tried to regularly attack their opponents through early attacks. In addition, the Basques developed even more determination, had eight attempts at goal and recently had their best goal scene. In addition, the home team unsurprisingly recorded the larger share of the game. And the Catalans also posed a great goal threat on two occasions early on. But as the game went on, the champions got through far less well. Barça fired the last of the three shots on goal in the 20th minute. Since then there has been a lull.
45.+2
9:50 p.m
End of 1st half
45.+1
9:50 p.m
ter Stegen wide awake! Nico Williams appears again in the box on the left and is free to shoot with his left foot. Marc-André ter Stegen’s left foot twitches out. This is the German keeper’s best act in this encounter.
45.
9:48 p.m
Official injury time (minutes): 2
44.
9:48 p.m
Now the guests pick up the pace and attack from the left. The Williams brothers are at work there. Nico plays on Iñaki but does it a little too late, making it an offside position.
41.
9:44 p.m
Yellow card for Oriol Romeu (FC Barcelona)
By holding against Oihan Sancet, Oriol Romeu becomes the next candidate for a warning. This is the midfielder’s second yellow of the season.
39.
9:42 p.m
Not much happens in this phase, the game becomes increasingly flat. Athletic is holding up well at the moment, keeping the master busy, who can’t stage the game himself at the moment.
37.
9:41 p.m
Yellow card for Dani García (Athletic Bilbao)
Dani García picked up his first yellow card of the current season for a foul on Oriol Romeu.
34.
9:39 p.m
By the way, Ernesto Valverde has an extensive Barça past. The Athletic coach was a player for two years between 1988 and 1990 and, from 2017, coach of the Catalans for two and a half years.
32.
9:37 p.m
The guests continue to collect goals diligently. Now a corner from Nico Williams reaches Gorka Guruzeta in the penalty area. He can’t do much with his right foot and misses the box.
30.
9:34 p.m
The Catalans have now reached around 65 percent possession of the ball. There have already been two really good opportunities. However, Bilbao is 6-3 in terms of attempts on goal. The Basques are still not hiding.
27.
9:31 p.m
João Félix receives the ball in the box on the left, has Ruiz de Galarreta and Óscar De Marcos against him and goes down. That looks a bit too clumsy, the referee also seems to think so and lets it go.
26.
9:30 p.m
Substitution at Athletic Bilbao: Iñigo Lekue
26.
9:29 p.m
Substitution at Athletic Bilbao: Yuri
25.
9:29 p.m
Then Yuri returns once more, but is still limping. And the left-back keeps shaking his head. The change seems inevitable and should only be a matter of time.
23.
9:28 p.m
Yuri is sitting on the grass and apparently has problems with his right calf. The carers rush to help. The player doesn’t leave a particularly confident impression.
21.
9:25 p.m
On the other side, Iñaki Williams tries to get to the right on the edge of the penalty area. Marc-André ter Stegen directs the right-footed shot over the crossbar with his right hand.
20.
9:24 p.m
After a push from Vivian, João Félix goes down but doesn’t receive the free kick. Shortly afterwards, the Portuguese takes off from a half-left position. Unai Simón saves the right-footed shot from about 18 meters.
16.
9:20 p.m
Yellow card for Gavi (FC Barcelona)
For the first time, referee Juan Martínez Munuera reaches for the yellow box. Gavi sees this after a tactical intervention against Oihan Sancet. This is the fourth booking of the season for Barça’s Yellow King.
14.
9:20 p.m
Brilliant deed from Unai Simón! Then İlkay Gündoğan initiates the master’s next attack, sending Alejandro Balde up the pace from the left. Fermín López then finds that he plays into the middle with an overview. Unai Simón caught his left-footed shot with great difficulty and reacted brilliantly.
12.
9:18 p.m
As expected, despite Bilbao’s courageous performance, Barcelona has the greater share of the game and therefore has a significantly higher pass rate. And even in duels, the hosts are usually ahead.
10.
9:15 p.m
João Félix hits the crossbar! Ferran Torres cleanly takes a long diagonal ball from Andreas Christensen on the right side with his chest and then marches towards the penalty area. Once there, the flat pass follows in the middle. João Félix shoots directly with his right foot from a good twelve meters and hits the top of the crossbar.
9.
9:13 p.m
On the other side, the guests are awarded the first corner kick of the game. Marc-André ter Stegen initially takes care of this with a fist defense. But Athletic sticks with it and puts the ball into the box again. Vivian tries for the header, but is pressed hard by Gavi.
7.
9:12 p.m
Barça goes to work patiently. Now the host solves it playfully. Ultimately you get to the sixteen. However, there is no goal completion there.
5.
9:09 p.m
Iñaki Williams scored the first goal of this encounter. His right-footed shot from almost 18 meters in the middle calls Marc-André ter Stegen into action. The German national goalkeeper has to throw himself into the right corner and holds the ball safely.
3.
9:07 p.m
The guests tackle this bravely, start early and try to make it more difficult for the masters to build up the game. In fact, this means that the Basques keep winning the ball.
8:55 p.m
Last season, Barça won both games against Athletic – the one at Camp Nou 4-0. This means the Catalans have won three games in a row without conceding a single goal. The last time the Basques had anything to gain was in the 2021/2022 season at home in the league (1:1) and in the cup (3:2 after extra time). The last time Bilbao took home anything in Barcelona was in September 2018 (1:1), but for the visitors to win we have to look back to November 2001 (1:2). At this point it should be remembered that the Catalans are temporarily playing in the Olympic Stadium this season.
8:44 p.m
Barcelona is the only team in the Spanish league that is still unbeaten – and that even applies to all eleven competitive games this season. The champions only dropped points three times, but always only drew away. They won all five games at home. Athletic recently won 3-0 against Almería, but before that they suffered a 3-0 defeat at Real Sociedad. The Basques had previously remained unbeaten on the road this season, winning 2-0 in Pamplona and Alavés and playing goalless in Mallorca.
8:36 p.m
From a table perspective, the currently fourth place hosts the sixth. Both teams are separated by four points. For the Catalans, it’s about nipping at the heels of leaders Real Madrid with a home win and taking advantage of Los Blancos’ point loss in Seville (1-1) to get within one point.
20:28
On the home side, Xavi Hernández made two changes compared to the 2-2 draw in Granada two weeks ago. Instead of Jules Koundé (knee injury) and Lamine Yamal (bench), Iñigo Martínez and Oriol Romeu move into Barça’s starting eleven. Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong are still missing due to an ankle injury, while Sergi Roberto has a muscular problem. There is only one change for the guests after their 3-0 home win against Almería. Yeray is not in Bilbao’s starting lineup due to an adductor injury. Ernesto Valverde ordered Aitor Paredes onto the pitch from the start today.
8:14 p.m
Welcome to the Primera División! As part of the tenth matchday in Spain’s La Liga, FC Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao at 9 p.m.