:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59070347/933649450.jpg.1521382363.jpg)
FULL TIME, Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao: Boring second half, but that’s fine. We played such a great first half that it doesn’t matter if we took the final period off when the game was so easy. Valverde destroyed his former side, but no one is going to give him credit because Barça only won 2-0 and didn’t do anything in the second half. Because, you know, it’s never about the players! It’s always Valverde!
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao: Let’s finish the job, lads.
HALFTIME, Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao: This is quite possibily THE best 45 minutes we’ve played all season. The way we dominated the ball and constantly created a number of clear-cut scoring chances was truly fantastic, and how this only 2-0 is truly mind-boggling. Messi, Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho were tremendous as a trio behind Paco Alcácer, and Paulinho did not run around like a headless chicken this time. Pretty, pretty, pretty good half of football this one.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao (30’): After an INSANE amount of pressure and a countless number of chances that somehow didn’t go in, Barça finally doubled their lead. After a nice run from Paulinho, Ousmane Dembélé found Messi at the edge of the box and Leo fired a rocket to the bottom corner. IT’S TWO!!!!!!!
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Athletic Bilbao (8’): Quick goal for Barça! Nice work of possession, then Lionel Messi finds Jordi Alba (who seemed just a bit offside) who finds Paco Alcácer for an easy finish and the opening goal. So we don’t need Suárez, right??? J.K.
KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Athletic Bilbao: Let’s do this, boys! Don’t give me a heart attack.
It’s Barcelona matchday! The Blaugrana are back in La Liga action today and welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Camp Nou for an important step in Barça’s road to the title.
The table might say this is an easy afternoon for the leaders, but it won’t be. Even though they’re not the same team as they used to be under Ernesto Valverde, they still have a good squad of players and will make things tough for the home team. The fact that this game isn’t taking place at the San Mamés gives Barça a big advantage, but it’s still going to be difficult.
But Barça have Lionel Messi, so they’re big favorites no matter where the game is played. This should be a fun one to watch, and you can’t miss it.
You can also stay right here for the LIVE BLOG! We’ll be updating this post with all the big events in the match, so keep refreshing the page once the game starts and have fun with us!
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2017-18 La Liga, Matchday 29
Date/Time: Sunday, March 18th, 2018, 4.15pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 11.15am EST, 8.15am PST (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Santiago Jaime Latre
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA, Canada, Spain), Sky Sports Mix (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), SONY TEN 2 (India), others
How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA, Canada, Spain), Sky GO (UK), FuboTV (7-day free trial, click here to sign up)
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Dembélé, Rakitic, Paulinho, Coutinho; Messi, Alcácer
Substitutes: Cillessen, Mina, Digne, Aleñà, Gomes, Iniesta, Vidal
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Starting XI: Kepa; De Marcos, Núñez, Martínez, Saborit; Beñat, San José; Lekue, Raúl García, Susaeta; Merino
Substitutes: Herrerín, Iturraspe, Williams, Etxeita, Aduriz, Vesga, Córdoba
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do will be warned, and those who post links will be banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! VISCA EL BARÇA!