Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao, La Liga: Final Score 2-1, Robert Lewandowski scores late winner as Barça claim three points in home opener

Barcelona remain perfect after two games to begin the new La Liga season thanks to a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening. Barça were the better team from start to finish and the game was not as close as the score suggests, but the Blaugrana did need a late Robert Lewandowski winner to claim all three points in their home opener and continue their strong start to life under Hansi Flick.

FIRST HALF

The opening period belonged almost entirely to Barça, who came out with a strong attacking gameplan and dominated most of the action with crisp, precise passing to progress the ball between the lines and good movement in the final third to find spaces and create chances.

The double pivot of Marc Bernal and Pedri constantly kept the machine running while Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Ferran Torres all played a part in providing service to Robert Lewandowski, who also helped out the team with his hold-up and link-up play. It was a strong start, and the Catalans also remained solid at the back and didn’t allow a real chance to an Athletic side happy to absorb pressure and unable to create much on the other end.

Barça’s excellent early play deserved a goal, and the reward came midway through the period thanks to Lamine Yamal, who claimed the rebound from a free-kick clearance outside the box and curled a beauty into the net with the help of a deflection by Iñigo Lekue. The Catalans nearly doubled the lead shortly after with a beautifully crafted counter-attack chance, but Lewandowski hit the post and missed a big opportunity.

Then out of nowhere Athletic were given a penalty after a VAR check showed Álex Berenguer going down in the box under the challenge of Pau Cubarsí, and Oihan Sancet buried the spot kick to equalize just before the break.

The halftime whistle came to end a half dominated by Barça but all square thanks to missed chances and an unlucky penalty, and the game was still open heading into the final period.

SECOND HALF

Things pretty much stayed the same to start the second half as Barça continued to dominate the ball and the action, and Lewandowski hit the post again with a free header before having a sure-fire goal denied by a spectacular save from Álex Padilla as the Blaugrana remained the better side at the hour mark.

Fermín López came on at that point and the Catalans continued to increase the pressure looking for a second goal, while Athletic struggled to offer any real danger apart from a couple of attempts by Nico Williams that never truly threatened Marc-André ter Stegen. The visitors were clearly satisfied with a point, while the hosts wanted the victory as we reached the final 20 minutes.

And the home team’s relentless pressure finally paid off: Raphinha’s beautiful pass found Pedri inside the box, and the midfielder’s deflected cross fell perfectly to Lewandowski who finally found the back of the net with a powerful shot to give Barça the lead as we reached the second half hydration break.

Athletic had 15 minutes plus added time to try and rescue a point in Catalonia, but Barça did a very good job of not allowing any real chances to the visitors and held on to their narrow lead until the final whistle came to give them all three points.

This was a strong, commanding performance in which Barça were never really in trouble and showed signs of improvement compared to last week’s showing against Valencia. The attack was more diverse with more precise passing, and the defending was better organized and with very few breakdowns.

It was a complete team performance, but the many missed chances were the only real negative. You need to put games away when you can, especially in a low-scoring league such as La Liga. But with the other areas looking this strong so far, the lack of scoring being the biggest issue is actually good news.

Well done, boys!

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde (Martín (90+1’); Bernal (Eric 83’), Pedri; Yamal (Víctor 90+1’), Raphinha, Ferran (Fermín 63’); Lewandowski

Goals: Yamal (24’), Lewandowski (75’)

Athletic: Padilla; Lekue, Vivian, Yeray, Yuri; Prados (Herrera 78’), Vesga (Jauregizar 63’); Berenguer (Ares 72’), Sancet (Unai 62’), N. Williams; I. Williams (Guruzeta 78’)

Goal: Sancet (pen 42’)