Spanish La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona – Full Time Report (Part 1)
The first half was filled with action and drama as Barcelona managed to hit the post and were also in a one-on-one situation twice. However, those two moments were not heart sinking as the real moment came in when a home side player
was red carded by the referee after a dangerous challenge that he made on Andres Iniesta.
After the first half it was seen that Lionel Messi's absence wasn't really felt by Barcelona as Andres Iniesta was able to replace him perfectly on the field. However, Barcleona were the side who didn't manage to score a single
goal even after being at a man's advantage.
The second half began and both the sides were on level terms as Barcelona didn't manage to score a single goal and neither did Athletic Bilbao. The match was very important for Barcelona as a "win" would put them ahead of Real
Madrid in terms of points as Jose Mourinho's men only managed to draw the away game against Levante.
The second half started off and both the sides made a single change. Maxwell came on for Adriano while Marcos came on for Martinez. Barcelona kicked the game off and earned themselves an early corner. Xavi took the corner kick
while Gerard Pique missed the chance to score a goal.
Puyol managed to foul Fernando Llorente right at the sideline as Bilbao won a free kick which was well delivered by Marcos. After a perfect delivery, the ball was shot on the post and a wonderful chance was given away by San Jose.
Gerard Pique on the other hand took the first shot on goal for Barcelona as he shot the ball from 40 yards out and it was deflected off by the home side goal keeper. Xavi Hernandez took the corner but nothing positive happened
for the Barcelona side.
Barcelona were trying to move the ball around and were trying to keep the ball to themselves but till the 52nd minute it was the home team that was capitalizing over counter attacking football and even though they were
a man down, they had the best chance of the second half.
Seydou Keita managed to score the first goal of the game as he managed to make up for the mistake that he made in the first half. A wonderfully worked move by the Catalan giants as Iniesta gave the ball to David Villa who gave
it to Keita. The former Sevilla player did not make a mistake this time and managed to score a goal to ease the pressure on the away team.
After scoring the first goal, Barcelona felt better as they had the three points that they wanted however, Pedro got a wonderful chance the very next minute but he only managed to find the goalkeeper's arm and a wonderful save
was made by Caparros.
If the score line was to remain the same as it was during the 55thminute of the game, Barcelona were to climb a point ahead of Real Madrid and a point behind Valencia. However, Barcelona were not letting it remain 1-0
and they kept on trying for more goals.
Gerard Pique fouled Llorente as he blocked him off at the sidelines, and the Athletic Bilbao player was seen falling down a bit too easy however Gerard Pique got a yellow card for the challenge.
The free kick wasn't very well taken and as a counter, Barcelona managed to pass the ball through to David Villa who wasn't having a "very" bad night and managed to make an assist as well. Villa only managed to win a corner after
deflecting his shot to the defender right in front of him in the 18 yard box.
Iniesta managed to find the ball right at the left flank but he slipped and the foul wasn't given even though many thought that it was. Bilbao won a goal kick and it was well taken by Caparros.
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