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Barcelona took on Athletic Club de Bilbao on match day 2 of La Liga on Sunday evening in their first home fixture of the season, and the game that unfolded at Montjuic did not disappoint.
The Catalans lined up with Alejandro Balde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, and Jules Kounde in defence, Marc Bernal and Pedri in a double pivot with Raphinha playing as an attacking midfielder.
Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski completed the lineup on the night.
Barcelona’s star boy Yamal opened the scoring in just the 24th minute with an inspired strike from distance, but the Basque side were given the luxury of equalising from the penalty spot 18 minutes later.
Eventually, Robert Lewandowski scored the winner for the Blaugrana midway through the second half.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona 2-1 Athletic Club.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 7
While Ter Stegen could not do much to deny Athletic Club from the spot, he came up clutch with a vital save from inside the box in the second half. Apart from his direct shot-stopping numbers, he was clean with his distribution.
Jules Kounde: 8
Going up against Nico Williams on the flank, Kounde was up for one of his biggest tests in La Liga this season against Athletic Club last night. Yet, it is safe to say that he did a good job of keeping the Spaniard silent.
In 90 minutes, the Frenchman won five duels, blocked one shot, provided one clearance and made two tackles for the Blaugrana.
Pau Cubarsi: 5
The 17-year-old enjoyed a decent start to the game but it all went awry very soon for young Cubarsi.
He did not register a single defensive action for the team through the first half and was dribbled past with ease on one occasion. The lowest point in the game, however, was the penalty he gave away for an unnecessary foul that gifted Athletic Club the penalty and an equaliser.
Inigo Martinez: 7.5
The better of Barcelona’s two centre-backs on the night by far, Martinez recorded three clearances, blocked one shot, two tackles and won 100% of his duels with an astounding passing accuracy of 94%.
Alejandro Balde: 8
Balde was always expected to play a critical role in Flick’s Barcelona and last night’s game only showed how important the left-back is in the final third.
The La Masia star regularly pushed forward in attack and was the sole provider of width down his flank. He was tasked with combining with Ferran Torres and Raphinha and also looping crosses into the box, a task he carried out effectively.
Marc Bernal: 8.5
Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images
Flick preferred Bernal over Marc Casado in the pivot against the Basque side and the youngster showed exactly why he had earned the manager’s favour.
With 96% pass accuracy, 100% dribbles completed, and inspired distribution, the youngster gelled in perfectly with the team and served as the primary pivot with relative ease. Rightly walked off to a standing ovation at Montjuic.
Pedri: 9
Starting as part of the theoretical double pivot, it was clear that Pedri would have his hands tied in the novel role given his deep placement. Indeed, the midfielder did not shine as bright as he usually does but he found means to contribute nevertheless.
The Canary Islander regularly pushed forward to join the attacking buildup play, albeit still much deeper on the field than he would have liked to be. Created one big chance, made five key passes, and completed close to 90% of his passes on the night.
The cherry on the cake was his assist for Lewandowski’s goal in the second half which gave Barcelona the lead, and it was indeed a pass worthy of being an elite assist.
Robert Lewandowski: 8
The Polish striker was Barcelona’s only weak link in attack last night, a stark contrast from his man-of-the-match display against Valencia at Mestalla.
Lewandowski celebrating his goal. Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
He completed just seven passes in the first period and did not record a single shot on target despite the team’s regular forays into the final third. Hit the crossbar once in the second half and had a big chance in the 63rd minute as well.
His second-half improvement was rewarded in the 74th minute with a stunning goal, slamming Pedri’s ball into the back of the net.
Raphinha: 10
Once again starting in his altered role, Raphinha shone bright in the final third and was the team’s most regular player when pushing forward in numbers.
Starting centrally in the space behind Lewy, the Brazilian superstar enjoyed his freedom, regularly drifted into spaces and helped play-make Barcelona’s threat in the final third.
Lamine Yamal: 9.5
A routine masterclass from Barcelona’s little hero who stepped up his game against a tricky opposition. Established a great partnership with Jules Kounde and Raphinha to form a triangle of his own and create a ruckus.
Bagged the team’s opening goal of the night and fittingly scored Barcelona’s first goal of the new season at home, although his shot was aided by a small deflection.
Ferran Torres: 7.5
After dropping a disastrous performance last weekend, the Spanish winger was handed another start after Dani Olmo’s registration failed to go through once more.
This time, however, Torres was on point with great passing accuracy, regular contributions to the buildup and four successful dribbles in the first period alone.
Fermin Lopez: 6.5
Came on for the final half hour and was effective with his distribution, although he did not have the desired impact in terms of threat created in front of goal.
