Barcelona make short work of Athletic Bilbao

For the first time this season, Barcelona won their third consecutive game of the season – in all competitions – by beating Athletic Bilbao 4-0 at the Camp Nou.

It was also the third straight game the Catalans put four goals past their opponent.

Perhaps looking ahead to their Copa del Rey semifinal match against Valencia, Marcelino sent out a bit of a rotated side with the Williams brothers on the bench.

Regardless, the visitors held firm early on, playing with a deep back line.

But they were finally beaten thanks to an unexpected facet of the game: set pieces. Off a corner, Gerard Pique headed the ball but it struck the crossbar. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in the right place for the rebound; he stuck his foot out and got just enough on it to beat Unai Simon.

Barcelona held on to the one-goal margin but knew they needed a second to get some margin for error. Xavi Hernandez made a couple of changes and brought in Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong.

The Frenchman entered to a mix of whistles and cheers. It didn’t take long to turn those whistles into overwhelming cheers.

In the 73rd minute, De Jong passed the ball to Dembele on the left. He controlled the ball and entered into the area seeming to have lost the angle for a goal. But Dembele struck the ball inside Simon’s near post to give Barcelona the breathing room they needed.

Dembele wasn’t quite finished yet.

Luuk de Jong and Memphis Depay were another pair of subs Xavi made. The latter was making his return after two months out.

In the 90th minute, Dembele, now on the right, was picked out after a nice bit of skill from Pedri. Dembele cut away from the defender before driving inside and sending in a cross met by a Luuk header. It was Barcelona’s 10th headed goal of the season and another one for the Dutch striker.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Dembele delivered his second assist of the game, this time to Memphis, who simply had to poke the ball into the back of the net.

With the win, Barcelona climb back into fourth place in LaLiga, only 1 point behind third-place Real Betis with a game in hand.

While it took a while for Barcelona to pull away, Dembele showed how quickly he can change a game and why Xavi was adamant he was going to play him regardless of his contract situation.

It was another all-around game from Barcelona both offensively and defensively. They scored four times and managed to keep a clean sheet without Jordi Alba. Sergiño Dest did a decent job covering for him at left-back.

We’d be remiss without mentioning Pedri who had another sensational game. His ability to get out of tight spaces and stretch the game with a simple change in flanks were key to Barcelona’s win.

Things seem to finally be clicking and Xavi’s influence on the team is finally being felt. Barcelona will look for their third straight LaLiga win on the road as they travel to take on Elche.