Barcelona displayed another brilliant attacking display to close the gap to third-placed Real Betis.
Barcelona crushed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in their La Liga game on Sunday. The Catalans continue their relentless form of recent games, picking Bilbao as their newest victim.
Barca are officially back! 🔙
Since the appointment of Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona fans had only seen flashes of brilliance from his team, without the required consistency to stay at the highest level.
However, since the winter transfer window, the Catalans are playing on another level. Another fast-paced start to the game saw Pierre Emerick Aubameyang open the scoring for the Catalans in the 37th minute. It was the former Arsenal star’s fifth goal in his fourth appearance for Barcelona.
Athletico kept Barcelona at bay for most of the second half, but then three substitutions from Xavi Hernandez changed the course of the game. Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, and Ousmane Dembele came in while Barca increased the pressure to double their lead.
De Jong provided an assist for Dembele a few minutes after coming into the pitch, putting Barca ahead 2-0 in the 70th minute. Dembele then returned De Jong’s favour by providing him with a beautiful cross to score Barca’s third goal of the night.
The French star completed his brilliant performance by providing his second assist of the night for Memphis Depay in the 93rd minute. It was another unstoppable run from the former Dortmund star, which he followed with an inch-perfect cutback.
Having scored 12 goals in their last three games, the Catalans are enjoying their best form in months. It will be exciting to see whether they can find an unexpected breakthrough in their contract talks with Dembele after his recent performances.
What’s next for Xavi’s side and Bilbao?
Barca are now only a point away from leapfrogging Real Betis from the third spot. On the other hand, Bilbao remain in the eighth spot on the table, three points behind Real Sociedad.
The Catalans will face Elche in their next league game next Sunday while Bilbao meet Valencia in the Copa del Rey semi-finals three days earlier.
Player Ratings
Barcelona: Ter Stegen (7); Dest (7), Pique (8), Araujo (7), Alves (8); Gavi (6), Busquets (7), Pedri (8); Torres (6), Aubameyang (8), Traore (7).
Bench: Gonzalez (6), De Jong (8), L. De Jong (7), Depay (7), Dembele (10).
Athletic Bilbao: Simon (5); Lekue (7), Vivian (4), Alvarez (5), Balenziaga (5); Zarraga (6), Vencedor (5), Vesga (6), Serrano (4); Villalibre (5), Garcia (6).
Bench: Williams (5), Sancet (5), I. Willams (6), Garcia (6), Martinez (7).
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