Barcelona again distanced themselves from Real Madrid after a narrow 1-0 win over hosts Athletic Bilbao in a Spanish LaLiga match at the San Mames Stadium, Sunday, March 8, 2026 WIB. Barca's victory was determined by Lamine Yamal who confirmed his position at the top of the standings.
Madrid managed to cut the points gap with Barca after defeating Celta Vigo 2-1 in the previous match. However, Barca was able to overcome the pressure when threatened by its rival.
Even though they had to fight hard because Athletic gave a tight resistance while playing at home, Barca finally managed to outdo the hosts. The one-goal victory was able to take Barca away from Madrid. With 67 points, the Blaugrana confirmed their position at the top of the standings and returned four points ahead of their closest competitors.
Meanwhile, Athletic, who have also failed in the Copa del Rey, are still stuck in the middle of the table. They are in ninth place with 35 points. The same as Real Sociedad but Athletic lost by goal difference.
This victory is also an important capital for Barca who will play the 16-team Champions League match in the middle of this week. They visited Newcastle United's home who qualified for the knockout round through the playoff route.
For the Champions League match, coach Hansi Flick rotated the players. Striker Ferran Torres returned to the starting lineup and Robert Lewandowski sat on the bench with Pedri, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez and Ronald Araujo.
However, Flick defended Yamal who, along with Dani Olmo and Marcus Rashford, supported Torres. Only, Barca had trouble dealing with Athletic's offensive game, which had previously failed to reach the Copa del Rey final after being eliminated by Real Sociedad. Even defender Joao Cancelo almost made a suicide goal when goalkeeper Joan Garcia did not fight to save the goal.
Athletic also managed to break Barca's goal through Inaki Williams before the end of the first half. Only that goal was annulled because he was in an offside position so the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
In the second half of the match was tighter and each one of them put pressure. Barca almost got a penalty after defender Pau Cubarsi knocked down Williams.
However, there was no violation of the incident so that Barca escaped the punishment. Furthermore, Ernesto Valverde's team got a chance through Oihan Sancet. However, the effort could be thwarted by goalkeeper Garcia.
When under pressure, Barca managed to take advantage of the opportunity to break the opponent's goal in the 68th minute. The goal started with Barca's success in breaking Athletic's attack. Furthermore, they attacked from the right side of the defense. Pedri who brought the ball released a long cross which was received well by Yamal.
No one expected that far ball because defender Adama Boiro was actually in a position far from Yamal. No wonder, the 18-year-old Spanish national team player did not get any escort so he did not have any trouble shooting into the top right corner. Unai Simon's goalkeeper failed to reach the ball so the score changed to 1-0 for Barca.
This was the only goal that was created in the match. This is because Barca again had trouble adding goals. Meanwhile, Athletic also failed to show sharpness when playing at home. The score 1-0 lasted until the end of the match.
"A disappointing result. Especially we actually played better. We didn't deserve to lose in this match," said Athletic defender Dani Vivian.
"However, it must be admitted that this is not an easy match because we face the toughest opponent in the league. However, we actually played well. This is what makes me disappointed because we failed to win," he said again.
Meanwhile, Pedri was satisfied with the victory. Moreover, his assist led Yamal to score the only goal. "I saw Lamine's position and I was sure he could do it. And it's true, he put the violin in the top corner which made the goalkeeper couldn't do anything," said Pedri.
"He is still young, but his performance continues to improve," he said praising his partner.
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