Spanish La Liga
BarcelonaBarcelona3Ath BilbaoAthletic Bilbao0

Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Bilbao

Lionel Messi
Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz was beaten at his near post by Lionel Messi's free-kick

Barcelona moved to within one point of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with victory over Athletic Bilbao.

Paco Alcacer scored his first La Liga goal for Barcelona on a rare start, with Luis Suarez rested, when he turned home Neymar's cross from 10 yards.

Lionel Messi doubled the lead when he beat Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz at his near post from a right-wing free-kick.

And Aleix Vidal sealed the win after a solo run past several defenders.

His goal meant Barca became the first European team to score 100 times in all competitions this season, with Monaco also reaching the landmark later in the afternoon.

Real Madrid, whose scheduled match away to Celta Vigo on Sunday has been postponed because of storm damage to the hosts' stadium, have two games in hand on Barca.

Sevilla, who are three points behind Barcelona, host Villarreal on Sunday (11:00 GMT).

Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid beat Leganes 2-0, with Fernando Torres scoring his first two La Liga goals since September.

In Saturday's other La Liga matches, Sergi Enrich scored twice as Eibar climbed to seventh with a 4-0 victory at 10-man Valencia, who had Carlos Soler sent off, while Espanyol won 1-0 at Malaga.

Line-ups

Barcelona

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1ter Stegen
  • 22Vidal
  • 3PiquéBooked at 22minsSubstituted forMascheranoat 45'minutes
  • 23Umtiti
  • 24Mathieu
  • 12RafinhaSubstituted forRakiticat 54'minutes
  • 21André Gomes
  • 7Turan
  • 10MessiSubstituted forRobertoat 64'minutes
  • 17Alcácer
  • 11Neymar

Substitutes

  • 4Rakitic
  • 6D Suárez
  • 9Suárez
  • 13Cillessen
  • 14Mascherano
  • 18Alba
  • 20Roberto

Ath Bilbao

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Iraizoz
  • 18De Marcos AranaBooked at 34mins
  • 27Álvarez
  • 4LaporteBooked at 70mins
  • 24Balenziaga Oruesagasti
  • 6San JoséSubstituted forEtxebarriaat 59'minutes
  • 8Iturraspe DerteanoBooked at 27mins
  • 15LekueSubstituted forAdurizat 52'minutes
  • 22GarcíaSubstituted forEraso Goñiat 74'minutes
  • 10Muniain Goñi
  • 11Williams

Substitutes

  • 2Bóveda
  • 5Eraso Goñi
  • 7Etxebarria
  • 14Susaeta
  • 20Aduriz
  • 25Saborit Teixidor
  • 29Remiro Gargallo
Referee:
José Luis González González
Attendance:
83,884

Match Stats

Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamAth Bilbao
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home16
Away11
Shots on Target
Home6
Away6
Corners
Home7
Away2
Fouls
Home11
Away18

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Barcelona 3, Athletic Club 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Barcelona 3, Athletic Club 0.

  3. Post update

    Corner, Athletic Club. Conceded by Marc-André ter Stegen.

  4. Post update

    Attempt saved. Muniain (Athletic Club) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Beñat Etxebarria.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Iturraspe.

  6. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Arda Turan.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic with a cross.

  8. Post update

    Attempt missed. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.

  9. Post update

    Attempt saved. Aleix Vidal (Barcelona) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Arda Turan.

  10. Post update

    Attempt missed. Aleix Vidal (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Arda Turan following a corner.

  11. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Aymeric Laporte.

  12. Post update

    Aleix Vidal (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Iturraspe (Athletic Club).

  14. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Eraso.

  15. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Aleix Vidal.

  16. Post update

    Hand ball by Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelona).

  17. Post update

    Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Eraso (Athletic Club).

  19. Post update

    Attempt missed. Eraso (Athletic Club) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Aduriz.

  20. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Aymeric Laporte.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 4th February 2017

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Real Madrid19144151173446
2Barcelona21136255183745
3Sevilla20133443281542
4Atl Madrid21116436162039
5Real Sociedad2011273128335
6Villarreal2097428141434
7Eibar219573229332
8Espanyol218852927232
9Ath Bilbao219572625132
10Celta Vigo209383133-230
11Las Palmas207763131028
12Alavés205961720-324
13Real Betis206592131-1023
14Malaga215792835-722
15Dep La Coruña204792532-719
16Valencia2054112940-1119
17Leganés2146111535-2018
18Sporting Gijón2034132039-1913
19Osasuna2017122143-2210
20Granada2017121644-2810
View full Spanish La Liga table