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FULL-TIME, Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Barcelona: Barça made the trip to hell, needed a lot of luck but found a way to get a win and restore their nine-point lead at the top of the table. An incredibly tense night at San Mamés, and a gigantic turning point in the title race before next week’s El Clásico.
90’ GOAL DISALLOWED: Athletic’s equalizer is called off after a VAR review shows a handball by Muniain at the start of the move that led to the goal. It’s a very clear foul, and the goal is correctly ruled out.
87’ GOAL, Athletic 1-1 Barcelona (I. Williams): Athletic equalize on a quick counter attack as a ball is played over the top to Iñaki Williams who beats the entire Barça defense for pace and fires it past Ter Stegen.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Athletic 0-1 Barcelona: Back underway at San Mamés!
HALFTIME, Athletic 0-1 Barcelona: A hard-fought opening period with loads of physical play and a couple of big chances for either side, with Athletic hitting the crossbar before Raphinha scored a giant goal just before the halftime whistle. Barça are ahead, but Bilbao are very much in it and the second half should be a battle.
45+1’ GOAL!!! Athletic 0-1 Barcelona (Raphinha): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! A huge goal just before halftime as Sergio Busquets finds Raphinha with a perfect pass and the Brazilian fires home the opener!!!
KICKOFF! Athletic 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway in Bilbao!
WELCOME TO SAN MAMÉS!!! This amazing football cathedral in the Basque Country is the site of a gigantic La Liga match between hosts Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, who come into this one looking to restore their nine-point lead at the top of the table. Barça can go into El Clásico next week with a chance to pretty much win the title, but first must do the job against one of the toughest teams in the league in one of the most hostile atmospheres in Europe. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; De Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran (4-3-3)
Substitutes: Peña (GK), Tenas (GK), Eric, Alonso, Alba, Kessie, Torre, Alarcón, Fati
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Starting XI: Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, Martínez, Balenziaga; García, Vesga; Williams, García, Berenguer; Williams (4-2-3-1)
Substitutes: Iruarrizaga (GK), Yeray, Yuri, Capa, Paredes, Vencedor, Zarraga, Muniain, Guruzeta
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2022-23 La Liga, Matchday 25
Date/Time: Sunday, March 12, 2023, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 4pm ET, 1pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday)
Venue: San Mamés, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano
VAR: José Luis González González
HOW TO WATCH
On TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), TSN 3 (Canada), Viaplay Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), Sports18 (India), Not Available (Spain), others
Online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), DAZN (Spain), others
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, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly 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! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!
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