On the eve of Leo Messi’s birthday, Barça downed Athletic Club 1-0 at the Camp Nou. The three points were salvaged by a goal-hungry Ivan Rakitiu0107 and good off the ball movement. After a drab 0-0 draw away at Sevilla, Barça really could not afford to drop any more points; yet, for the longest time, the game looked destined to finish as a draw. Athletic had set up an effective 4-4-2 deep block and Barça’s narrow attack had no answers. Even then, Barça managed to outplay Athletic Club and ended up with an xG of 1.96 to Athletic’s 0.
Quique Setien on the right track: Tactical analysis of Barcelona 1-0 Athletic
