Barcelona blow chance to go second as they grind to goalless draw in Bilbao
Despite the calibre of the two teams, the first half lacked quality. The best chance was an audacious long-range effort from Joao Cancelo, which had to be cleared off the line after Unai Simon came out of his goal.
Athletic’s only shot on target, meanwhile, was from Alex Berenguer, whose deflected effort was comfortably held by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Barcelona also suffered a double blow when Frenkie de Jong and Pedri came off injured before half time, with Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal coming on in their respective places.
The hosts started the second half quickly, as Inaki Williams fired wide on two occasions inside the opening five minutes before Robert Lewandowski squandered a couple of decent opportunities for the visitors.
Dani Garcia had the chance to win it for Athletic in injury time, but he could only head wide when free at the back post, summing up the lack of quality on show.
Athletic had won 10 consecutive home games in all competitions before tonight, and Barcelona were on a four-match winning streak away from home in the league, so both sides were eager not to give up their unbeaten streak as the game ultimately ended all square.
The result extends Athletic’s winless run against Barca to nine matches but keeps them in touch with the top four and qualification for the Champions League next season.
As for the visitors, it will be seen as a missed opportunity given Madrid and Girona also dropped points this weekend, and their title hopes are slowly slipping away.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joao Cancelo (Barcelona)