3 Things We Learned: FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 with some clinical finishing in a challenging game at Camp Nou.

Paco Alcácer

The Spanish striker finally got his first league goal for the club. It was a well-taken first time finish early in the match, which gave Barcelona some confidence in the midst of the Bilbao onslaught. Hopefully, this is the start of some consistent goalscoring form for him. He always puts the effort in with his movement and tracking back, but he hasn’t taken the chances that have come his way. However, this could be due to him adjusting to the new environment.

Not only is this goal important for him, it is also important for Luis Enrique. This is because it may finally cause Enrique to trust him in more important games. If this is the case, then Luis Suárez can be rested more, which would make him fresher for the big games. So far this season, Alcácer seems to be the only summer signing that Enrique doesn’t trust fully, but this goal might start to change that.

Neymar’s Brilliance

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The Brazilian genius was sublime throughout this match. In a game where an attacking player such as him could easily have been a bit-part, he showed his creative quality, and imposed his influence on the first goal. The assist for the first goal was what you come to expect from him, casually dribbling past a player before finding Alcácer with a pass across. He continued to torment the Bilbao defence from the wing, and nearly scored an excellent individual goal in the first half after leaving Mike San José on the floor. As if to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he had a similar chance in the second half which deserved to go in due to his mesmerizing footwork, but unfortunately it didn’t.

Next: Luis Enrique's comments on Barcelona's form in the league

Team Selection Justified

It was an eye-catching lineup from Lucho. Playing Jeremy Mathieu as a left-back, and putting Andre Gomes in the defensive midfielder role were risky moves. Resting players in order to avoid fatigue has always been a priority for him. Especially after the mini-collapse last season. Bilbao are difficult opponents, though. Losing or drawing with them would have led to questions over his team selection. However, his faith in these players was vindicated with a 3-0 win. There were key performances from fringe players who justified their selection. This includes Aleix Vidal and Alcácer who both showed that they can step up when needed.

The Catalans did make it hard for themselves at times, though, with some slack passing in the first half. This led to Bilbao having some good chances, but thankfully they weren’t able to capitalise. Aside from this, they weren’t able to create much. The clinical finishing from Barça was the difference between the two going in to the break. This allowed them to comfortably ease through the rest of the game after a challenging first half.