Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao highlights: Ivan Rakitic rescues Catalans to go on top

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic scored his first goal of the season to help Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 on Tuesday night (Wednesday IST). Despite another lacklustre display in LaLiga, Quique Setien's men avoided back-to-back draw thanks to an inspired performance from the Croatian midfielder. Keep reading for the Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao highlights, player ratings, LaLiga results, points table and more. 

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LaLiga results: Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao highlights

Last week, Barcelona handed the LaLiga advantage to Real Madrid after falling to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla. The game against Bilbao at the Camp Nou seemed to be heading for the same result as the trio of Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi failed to stitch many meaningful attacks. The Catalan giants unsurprisingly dominated the match and should have won the game by a comfortable margin. An inspiring performance from Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon kept the visitors in the game for much of the proceedings.

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Unai Simon managed to avert all danger barring for one from substitute Ivan Rakitic in the 71st minute. The chance presented itself after Lionel Messi tried to evade the marker to make room for a shot for himself. The ball, however, fell into the path of Ivan Rakitic who did well to beat Simon and give his side the lead. Arturo Vidal and Ansu Fati went close for Barcelona late on in the game, but neither could find the back of the net; the latter hit the woodwork. The game ended at 1-0 to Barcelona.

The win takes Barcelona to the top of the league with 68 points in 31 matches, three points ahead of Real Madrid, who will be facing RCD Mallorca on Wednesday night (Thursday IST). Barcelona will face Celta Vigo over the weekend while Athletic Club - 10th in LaLiga - will host Mallorca.

LaLiga standings

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Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao player ratings

Barcelona

Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 7/10

Gerard Pique - 7.5/10

Clement Lenglet - 8/10

Jordi Alba - 6.5/10

Nelson Semedo - 7/10

Sergio Busquets - 6.5/10

Arthur - 5.5/10

Arturo Vidal - 7/10

Lionel Messi - 8/10

Luis Suarez - 6/10

Antoine Griezmann - 6.5/10

Substitutes: Riqui Puig - 8.5/10, Ivan Rakitic - 8.5/10, Ansu Fati - 7.5/10, Martin Brarthwaite - NA

Athletic Bilbao

Unai Simon - 6.5/10

Mikel Bolenziaga - 6.5/10

Yeray Alvarez - 7/10

Oscar de Marcos - 6.5/10

Mikel Vesga - 6/10

Unai Lopez - 5/10

Inigo Cordoba - 6/10

Oihan Sancet - 6.5/10

Inigo Lekue - 6.5/10

Inaki William - 6/10

Substitutes: Dani Garcia - 5.5/10, Iker Muniain - 5.5/10, Ander Capa - 5.5/10, Asier Villalibre - 6/10, Raul Garcia - 6/10

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(Image Credits: Barcelona Twitter Handle)