Barcelona restored their four-point lead at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at San Mames, only their third win in eight visits to the ground.
The game burst into life immediately, with Joao Cancelo hitting his own crossbar inside the first 20 seconds. Lamine Yamal’s clever play and a Ferran Torres touch then almost forced an own goal at the other end.
Athletic’s preparations were disrupted early when Unai Gomez was forced off with a knee injury inside the first ten minutes, replaced by Robert Navarro. Barcelona took advantage of the unsettled hosts and began to control proceedings, with Marc Bernal pulling the strings from midfield. However, Dani Vivian and Aymeric Laporte kept Barca’s forwards quiet at the other end.
Athletic had their own chances. Selton Sanchez found himself clean through but was denied by goalkeeper Joan Garcia, while Inaki Williams thought he had opened the scoring only to be flagged for offside, and Navarro fired a cross-shot wide.
After the break, Barcelona continued to press. Unai Simon pushed away a Marcus Rashford effort, before the Englishman turned provider for Pau Cubarsi, whose header drifted just wide. Cubarsi was fortunate to remain on the pitch after bringing down Williams when the forward was through on goal, and Garcia then produced a brilliant save to deny Oihan Sancet and keep the scores level. Sonnet 4.6
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