San Mames is never an easy place to win, with Barcelona struggling there in recent seasons.
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Memphis Depay scored a stunning equalizer to rescue Barcelona against Athletic Club at San Mames Barria on Saturday. Inigo Martinez exploited Barcelona’s defensive weakness to earn the lead for the home side in the 50th minute. Ronald Koeman has enough to worry about after the lacklustre draw as veteran defender Gerard Pique limped off mid-way through the first half and fellow central defender Eric Garcia received a red card late in the game. The Catalan club is still in the early days of the post-Messi era and are searching for a talisman.
Depay set up Martin Braithwaite early in the game, but the Denmark international missed a sitter. Ronald Araujo who came in for injured Pique had a bicycle kick goal disallowed for offside. Meanwhile, other than these two chances for Barcelona, the first half was dominated by Athletic Bilbao who pressed high up the pitch and didn’t allow Koeman’s side to build up from the back.
Inaki Williams and Iker Munian terrorised the Barca defence. Munian down the left-flank was causing all sorts of problems for the right-back Sergino Dest. The home side should have gone up if not for some poor finishing.
Five minutes into the second half, Athletic Bilbao got the breakthrough they deserved. Munian’s corner was headed in by Martinez. After conceding the goal, Bilbao retreated a little bit and that allowed Barcelona to play their natural possession-based game. Koeman’s side began to stitch together a few passes and started showing more intent going forward
However, the Bilbao defence was well organized and Barcelona struggled to find spaces. It all changed as Frenkie De Jong hit the woodwork once and a minute later a sensational strike from Depay levelled the score. Sergi Roberto found Depay all alone on the left-wing and the 27-year-old struck a rocket into the roof of the net to beat Bilbao goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala.
After the equalizer, the Spanish giants dominated the game, pressed for the winner and got a golden opportunity in the later stage. The two Dutch players combined as De Jong released Depay for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper but he dragged his shot wide.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Garcia was sent off for denying Nico Williams a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the dying seconds of the game. Athletic Bilbao deserved three points but nevertheless, Barcelona showed great grit and determination to come back and earn a point away from home in front of 11,000 odd Bilbao fans.
The performance of Depay who arrived this summer on a free transfer from Lyon will please the Dutch coach. He is proving to be the match-winner for the Blaugrana, with the performance of midfielder De Jong exceptional as well. The 24-year-old’s guile, dribbling ability, defensive nous and ceaseless work-rate was on full display against Bilbao.
However, Koeman has defensive issues to solve when they host Getafe next week as both their first-choice centre-backs won’t be available.
Following the game, Barcelona confirmed that Pique had suffered a calf problem and will have the injury assessed to determine the extent of the issue.
This is the sixth time the 34-year-old has been taken off in his last 13 La Liga starts, with his contribution to Barcelona last season limited by injuries. The Spanish central defender was ruled out for four months with a knee injury in the middle of last season. He lasted less than a month after returning having been ruled out with another issue.
As a result, he made just 18 appearances in the previous La Liga season.
