BARCELONA — Lionel Messi came off the bench to help Barcelona avoid defeat against Athletic Bilbao, setting up a late equaliser for fellow substitute Munir El Haddadi to secure a 1-1 draw.
Athletic took a first-half lead through Oscar De Marcos and looked set to hold on to the three points as Messi and Philippe Coutinho were denied by the woodwork. However, Barca snatched a point in the 84th minute when Messi teed up Munir after his initial shot had been saved by Unai Simon.
Positives
Barca were staring a second successive defeat in the face for large parts of the second half before Messi’s introduction helped them salvage a draw. Nelson Semedo’s performance was also one of few bright points.
Negatives
That’s three games without a win for the Catalans, who have now dropped seven points in just six days following a draw with Girona and defeat at Leganes. Equally as worrying as the dropped points, though, is the defending. Gerard Pique played De Marcos onside for the goal as Barca conceded their eighth goal of the season in La Liga — more than 11 other teams at the time of writing.
Manager rating (out of 10)
5 — Ernesto Valverde’s had a nightmare with rotations in the past week. Against Girona, Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic were needed to save a point. In midweek, Luis Suarez was introduced when Barca fell behind at Leganes. Against Athletic, Sergio Busquets and Messi were both brought on before the hour mark. The coach is right to use his squad but he doesn’t seem to have found the right way to use it yet.
Player ratings (1-10, with 10 the best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 — Once again sold short by his defence, unable to do much about the Athletic goal. Other than that had little to do, although there was one hairy moment when he under-cooked a pass to Rakitic on his 150th Barca appearance.
DF Nelson Semedo, 7 — Good in attack, using his speed to good effect. Made one brilliant recovery challenge on Inaki Williams in the second half at 1-0, too.
DF Gerard Pique, 5 — Caught deep for the Athletic goal, allowing De Marcos to stay onside, and struggled to deal with Williams’ pace.
DF Clement Lenglet, 6 — Returned to the side after his one-game ban and things went better than they did against Girona. Not an ideal situation to come into, but looks composed on the ball.
DF Jordi Alba, 6 — Improved when Messi came on, linking with the Argentine on the left.
MF Sergi Roberto, 5 — Given the chance to impress in Busquets’ deeper midfield role but was forced off with an injury early in the second half.
MF Arturo Vidal, 6 — Made one brilliant pass to Suarez, who should have scored. Also contributed at the other end, snuffing out a Williams chance after the striker had rounded Ter Stegen.
MF Ivan Rakitic, 4 — An off day. Poor in possession and caught on the ball too often. Missed a great chance, set up by Messi, to win it in stoppage time.
FW Philippe Coutinho, 6 — Barca’s most likely source of inspiration before Messi came on. Bobbled a chance over at the end of the first half and hit the bar at the beginning of the second.
FW Luis Suarez, 6 — Had his moments but missed his big chance, shooting straight at Simon when fed by Vidal.
FW Ousmane Dembele, 5 — Continued a poor run of performances by failing to offer much from a right-wing position. However, was taken off for Munir just when he appeared to be having more joy.
Substitutes
MF Sergio Busquets, 6 — Didn’t get much of a rest as was needed early in the second half to replace the injured Sergi Roberto. Became the starting point for most Barca attacks.
FW Lionel Messi, 8 — Changed the game but he couldn’t save all three points. In just over 30 minutes, he hit the post, had a free kick cleared off the line, a shot blocked and another then saved by Simon … which he followed up by setting up Munir to equalise. He then created a golden chance in injury time for Rakitic, but the Croatian missed the target.
FW Munir, 7 — Came on from the bench in desperation more than anything but saved the day, turning home Messi’s cross to rescue a point. His first Barca goal since March 2016.
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