Athletic Club 0-0 Barcelona – Injury woe for Barca in frustrating stalemate with hosts in La Liga encounter

Barcelona played out a goalless draw at Athletic Club in their La Liga encounter, but at a greater cost were injuries to two key players.

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri were both left distraught when leaving the field in the first half with non-contact complaints suggesting the injuries could perhaps curtail their season.

The match itself saw little goalmouth action with the closest either side came to scoring coming just after the half-hour mark.

Unai Simon came out of his goal to block a shot from Fermin Lopez and then had to backpedal and get a slight touch from Joao Cancelo’s chip, needing Yeray Alvarez to complete the clearance on the line.

Neither side showed the desperation to get a winner in the second half with both goals seldom threatened.

The result sees Barcelona remain in third spot, a point behind Getafe, while Athletic Club stay in fifth, five points behind Atletico Madrid in the final Champions League qualifying berth.

It seemed unlikely Xavi would end his tenure at the Nou Camp with a big trophy but the results of this trip to the Basque country could realistically end any lingering hopes. Purely from a points perspective, remaining eight points behind Real Madrid after a referee’s whistle ensured their rivals dropped points this weekend, leaves them a long way back in March.

Even more important is the look of their midfield. For so long, Sergio Busquets was the hub, improving his team-mates’ play and ensuring the club’s creative players received the ball in dangerous areas. Now, as if the downgrade to converted central defender Andreas Christensen was not enough, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri look likely to be on the sidelines along with Gavi for the rest of the campaign. They next host Napoli on Wednesday in the second leg of a Champions League clash, with the Neopolitan side in contrast surely buoyant after victory over Juventus tonight.

It was disappointing the way Athletic ceded possession largely to Barcelona, but a key reason why they did not have many chances in the game was the strong defending of the hosts’ backline. Central to this was Alvarez, who not only cleared the most dangerous chance away but was also quick to deny any space for Robert Lewandowski, with a key block in the second half particularly notable.

Athletic Club: Unai Simon 7; Prados 6, Alvarez 8*, Paredes 7, Imanol 6; Vesga 6, Dani Garcia 6, Unai Gomez 6; Berenguer 7, Inaki Williams 6; Guruzeta 6.

Subs: Ruiz de Galarreta 6, Sancet 6, Malcom 6, Villalibre 7, De Marcos 6.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen 6; Kounde 7, Pau Cubarsi 6, Araujo 6, Joao Cancelo 7; Christensen 6, De Jong 6, Gundogan 6; Raphinha 5, Lewandowski 6, Pedri 6.

Subs: Fermin Lopez 6, Yamal 7, Joao Felix 6, Martinez 6, Romeu 6.

24′ DE JONG DOWN AFTER TWISTING ANKLE ON LANDING! It looks like his evening will be over shortly.

32′ NEARLY A FINE GOAL FROM CANCELO! Simon came well out of his goal to deny Fermin, but then Cancelo tries a chip but the retreating keeper gets a hand to the effort and Alvarez completes the clearance on his line.

43′ MORE INJURY WOES FOR BARCELONA! Now Pedri is limping off after pulling up after kicking the ball.

58′ CANCELO SLIPS A BALL THROUGH TO LEWANDOWSKI! But as he is set to pull the trigger he is denied by a fine challenge from Alvarez.

90+2′GREAT CHANCE FOR DANI GARCIA! A corner found him at the back post but he headed weakly wide of the target.