Sancet and Pedri took to the pitch, and the game took notice. Barcelona pressed and suffocated Athletic Bilbao with a couple of chances from Rashford, but the hosts withstood the pressure and Sancet created some danger first with a weak shot in the 53rd minute and five minutes later by testing Joan García.
Barcelona dominated possession, but Athletic tightened their press and managed to unsettle their opponent and even came close to danger in Joan García's area. First, it was Selton in the 35th who found himself one-on-one with the 'blaugrana' goalkeeper but lacked the decisiveness to finish, and in the 43rd, Navarro crossed the ball too far. Valverde's side, running out of steam minute by minute, made Barcelona work until the final action, burning their last bullet with a Navarro volley in stoppage time that practically closed out a great night of football at San Mamés.
— Technical Sheet: 0 – Athletic Club: Unai Simón; Gorosabel, Vivian, Laporte, Adama; Jauregizar (Eder García, m.74), Rego (Vesga, m.69); Unai Gómez (Navarro, m.10), Selton (Sancet, m.46), Berenguer; and Iñaki Williams (Guruzeta, m.69). 1 – Barcelona: Joan García; Eric García, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Cancelo; Casadó (Araujo, m.78), Bernal (Pedri, m.46); Lamine Yamal, Olmo (Fermín, m.61), Rashford (Raphinha, m.61); and Ferran (Lewandowski, m.61). Goals: 0-1, m.68: Lamine Yamal. Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero (Andalusian Committee).
A great goal from Lamine Yamal midway through the second half, following an excellent pass from Pedri, gave Barcelona victory at San Mamés against the best Athletic of the season (0-1) and solidified the 'blaugrana' team's lead in LaLiga, with a four-point lead over Real Madrid. Hansi Flick's side suffered greatly in 'The Cathedral' to take three golden points from a match against an Athletic that came close to its best version, bothered them and threatened to strike on several occasions, although they lacked finesse in the final pass or shot to have obtained some reward. The Copa del Rey matches during the week had consequences for both teams' lineups. He showed yellow cards to Rego (m.50) of Athletic and Cubarsí (m.57) of Barcelona.
Incidents: Matchday 27 of LaLiga EA Sports played at San Mamés with 50,629 spectators in the stands. Photo EFE.
The post 'A great goal from Lamine Yamal solidifies Barcelona's lead' was first published in La Verdad Panamá.
Locally, Valverde gave Yuri, Sancet, and Guruzeta a rest, and at Barcelona, Pedri and Raphinha started the match on the bench to make way for Marc Casadó and Rashford. The Barcelona forward, Lamine, was well-marked, and it was first Rashford in the 34th and Ferran, with a brilliant backheel from a corner, who troubled Unai Simón. This action in stoppage time concluded a balanced and intense first half that picked up more pace in the second half. It was the call to arms for an end-to-end match with Athletic applying a high press that made it difficult for Barcelona to play out from the back. The first warning for Flick's side came in the sixth minute from a great cross from Lamine Yamal that Ferran wasted, and shortly after in the eighth, Unai Gómez suffered an apparent serious injury to his left knee after a bad support from the Basque player. The Bermeo native could not continue, and when the match restarted, the game cooled down slightly. Pedri brilliantly set up Lamine, who with a trademark shot sealed the duel. Athletic logically felt the blow, but by no means lowered their arms. EFE/Luis Tejido.
At the hour mark, Flick turned the screw further and sent Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Fermín onto the field to resolve a match that was becoming very complicated for him. Only 20 seconds had passed when Cancelo hit the crossbar with his attempt to clear a cross from Berenguer. And he found his reward through his two geniuses. EFE/Javier Zorrilla. The start was thrilling.
