Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao played out a goalless draw last night in the Spanish La liga. The result means Barcelona missed the chance to overtake Girona in second and also close the gap on leaders Real Madrid who drew with Valencia.
With second-placed Girona losing at Mallorca, a win for Barcelona would have seen them move up to second.
Athletic’s game plan worked to a point, denying Barcelona clear openings, but they were unable to pose any serious threat when they did get the opportunity to break.
The pattern of play remained the same in the second half with both teams building neatly up the field but struggling to execute the right pass in the final third.
With the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie to come against Napoli on 12 March, Barcelona boss Xavi will not have been pleased to have seen Frenkie de Jong and Pedri both leave the field with injuries, the latter reduced to tears when he took his place on the bench.
Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw at Valencia on Saturday offered Barcelona hope of cutting the gap at the top to just six points.
The draw does no favours for either side with Barcelona staying third and eight adrift of Real. Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao have dropped further off the pace of the top four as they sit five points behind Atletico Madrid, who beat Real Betis 2-1 earlier in the day.
La Liga: Barcelona Miss Chance To Close Gap On Leaders After Draw With Bilbao
