Athletic Bilbao v. Barcelona Match Review: Xavi’s Barca Are Susceptible And The Back Line Is Old

Barca needed a win to keep their strong lock on La Liga, as we’re starting to wind down this turbulent, yet exciting season of football. Coming to town was Betis, a club fighting Villarreal for Europa League football. As we approached the 80th minute or so, the blowout became a must watch experience though, as Lamine Yamal made his debut for Barca’s senior team, the youngest ever player to do so. The Camp Nou was raucous with excitement, as the Moroccan/Spanish winger made his way onto the legendary Camp Nou pitch, and potentially opened up a new chapter as a cornerstone for Barca’s future. His debut was exciting nonetheless, as Yamal almost scored a goal and gave two breathtaking passes that unlocked Betis’ defense.

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Ferran Torres scored the match-winner as Barcelona secured another 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou. With this win, Barça edge closer toward the LaLiga title. Moreover, this win vs Atletico also stops the negative streak of results that Barcelona had in the last couple of weeks.   The first half saw Barcelona in control of possession, but Atletico had a couple of good chanced. However, just before the break, Raphinha found Ferran, and the Spanish winger scored the winner. Barça restore their 11-point lead over Real Madrid with just eight games to go.   Atletico’s 13-game unbeaten streak — stretching back to Barça’s win at the Metropolitano in January — came to an end. But Barcelona were close to scoring more vs Atletico. Gavi, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski all missed chances to seal the win earlier. Although Atletico also had their moments. On his return to Camp Nou, Antoine Griezmann hit the bar inside 40 seconds and was Atletico’s biggest threat throughout. Furthermore, the Frenchman also drew two saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who kept a 23rd clean sheet in 30 LaLiga games.

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With a win, Barca would extend their lead atop La Liga to 15 points. And with the game at home, Barca truly couldn’t squander this golden opportunity. For Barca’s title hopes, this match seemed very important in terms of wrapping up La Liga as quickly as possible. A chance to go 15 points clear of Real Madrid certainly can’t be taken for granted, which is why many expected Barca to at least come out with energy and feistiness. But surprising to us, Barca came out with almost zero energy. Girona found it comfortable when they had possession, cycling around their own half with efficiency, while making Barca’s press look rather pedestrian.

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It wasn’t the El Clasico we all hoped for. Far from it. Barça arrived to the game with many missing players. However, this doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get a better result. Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Barça 4-0 to advance to the Copa del Rey final.

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The BarcaBreakdown is back discussing FC Barcelona's 0-4 victory away against Elche in La Liga. Barca scored 4 goals: 2 by Lewandowksi and one each by Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres. FC Barcelona is now 15 points clear of Real Madrid, who Barca play in a Copa Del Rey El Clasico on Wednesday. Barca took care of business in an exciting way, with goals galore, and even some exciting minutes from Pablo Torre and La Masia prospect Aleix Garrido. Who by the way, is an intriguing midfield prospect that Xavi himself rates pretty highly.

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BARCELONA are 12 points clear after beating Real Madrid in El Clasico! So happy to have BarcaBreakdown episodes with happy feelings. Lord knows it has been a long time.

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The BarcaBreakdown  is back covering FC Barcelona's 0-1 victory at San Mames against Athletic Club Bilbao. Raphinha scored the games only goal with an assist from Sergio Busquets, as had happened last week for Barca. Marc Andre Ter Stegen continued to show he is the MVP of this Barcelona La Liga campaign, with massive saves to upset Ernesto Valverde taking on his previous club.   Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarcaBreakdown

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The Barca Breakdown is back with FC Barcelona's 1-0 victory against Valencia at the Camp Nou. Raphinha scored a beautiful header from a nice Busquets assist. Ronald Araujo picked up a red card, largely due to a poor back pass from Jules Kounde. It looks like Araujo will only miss the Athletic Bilbao game, but there are worries he may have to miss the Clasico vs. Real Madrid as well.

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