Barcelona have made the most of their trip to the New San Mames Stadium with a 2-3 scoreline in their favour. Lionel Messi got himself on the scoresheet twice in the fixture and was awarded the Man of the Match award.
The Catalans initially went behind in the tie when Inaki Williams scored a stunning goal in the third minute of the match. Barcelona were quick to respond with a goal from Pedri within a span of 12 minutes. Ronald Koeman’s side then took the lead before the first half concluded with a sensational goal by Lionel Messi.
The Argentine repeated his antics in the second half and could have even had as many as four goals on the night. However, Messi was guilty of gifting possession to the opposition right in front of goal with a dangerous cross-field pass. Here’s how Barcelona players were rated from their trip to Basque Country.
GK: Marc Andre Ter Stegen – 7/10
The German goalie was barely tested by the home side apart from the goal in the third minute of the fixture.
RB: Sergino Dest – 7/10
A satisfactory performance from Dest down the right-hand side. The summer signing has impressed with Sergi Roberto out injured. Dest made way for Oscar Mingueza in the 75th minute of the match.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 7/10
Araujo put up a solid display against in the heart of Barcelona’s defence. The tall and strong defender was alert and did not seem to put a foot wrong on the night. However, Araujo was lucky not to have conceded a penalty when he seemed to obstruct the ball with his hand deliberately.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 7/10
Lenglet talked his way into the referee’s book and will miss Barcelona’s next league fixture. The French defender had an average night away from home.
LB: Jordi Alba – 7/10
A spirited performance down the left-hand side from the veteran full-back. The chemistry between Alba and Messi was a joy to watch at the new San Mames Stadium.
CM: Frenkie De Jong – 8/10
The Dutchman beautifully set up Barcelona’s first goal of the night.
CM: Sergio Busquets – 7/10
Busquets was calm and composed as ever and kept things under control for Barcelona in midfield. Not once during the fixture did Barcelona feel out of sorts. However, age does seem to be catching up on Busquets, who was a bit rigid at times.
CM: Pedri – 9/10
Pedri was amongst the top performers on the pitch. The teenager scored the opening goal of the night and also assisted Lionel Messi’s first-half goal, which enabled the Cules to take the lead in the fixture. Pedri was also extremely lively in midfield.
RW: Ousmane Dembele – 7/10
A rather quiet evening by Dembele’s standards and he made way for Martin Braithwaite in the second half. Dembele did not find life easy down the right-hand side with Yuri Berchiche keeping the Frenchman under check.
ST: Lionel Messi – 9/10
The Argentine led with example and inspired his side’s comeback into the fixture with one goal in each half. Pedri set up Messi’s first goal whereas Griezmann set up Messi’s second goal of the night. Lionel Messi sloppily gave away possession in the game’s dying minutes, which resulted in a second goal for Atheltic Bilbao.
LW: Antoine Griezmann – 7/10
Griezmann was vibrant down the left-wing and earned himself an assist as he set up Lionel Messi’s second goal of the night.
Substitutes
RB: Oscar Mingueza – 6/10
A satisfactory performance post his introduction in the 75th minute.
ST: Martin Braithwaite – 6/10
Martin did not have much of the ball post his second-half introduction.
