Robert Lewandowski claimed three points in Barcelona’s home opener after a late winner.
Barcelona is still on top form after two games to start the new La Liga season thanks to a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening. Barca was the better team from start to finish and the game wasn’t as close as the score suggests, but Robert Lewandowski scored late on to secure all three points for the Blaugrana in their home opener and continue a strong start to life under Hansi Flick. The winner was needed.
First half
Then out of nowhere, Athletic were awarded a penalty when a VAR check showed Alex Berenguer going down in the box under a challenge from Pau Cuberci, and Ohan Sunset buried the spot-kick just before the break to equalise.
Bars’ dominance ended at half-time at the half-time whistle but a missed chance and an unfortunate penalty leveled all squares and the game was still wide open in the final period.
Second half
Things remained largely the same to start the second half as Barça continued to dominate the ball and the action, and Lewandowski once again hit the post with a free header, before Alex as the Blaugrana A sure fire goal was denied by Padilla’s brilliant save. At the hour mark, the better side remained.
On came Ferman Lopez and the Catalans continued to pile on the pressure in search of a second goal, while Athletic struggled to offer any real threat apart from Nico Williams’ two efforts which never really got Marc-Andre ter Stegen going. Not threatened. The visitors were clearly content with a point, while the hosts were desperate for victory as we headed into the final 20 minutes.
It was a complete team performance, but the many missed opportunities were the only real negatives. You need to take away games when you can, especially in a low-scoring league like La Liga. But with other areas looking strong so far, the lack of scoring being the biggest problem is actually good news.
