Lionel Messi’s stoppage-time goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Barcelona at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, as leaders Real Madrid moved three points clear after their 7-1 thrashing of 10-man CA Osasuna.
Midfielder Ander Herrera put Bilbao ahead in the 20th minute at the San Mames, before Cesc Fabregas drew the visitors level with a header four minutes later.
Bilbao appeared set to get the win after Gerard Pique scored an own-goal in the 80th minute, but Messi slotted home his league-leading 14th goal in the 91st minute to share the points.
Photo: Reuters
“At the end we showed our mettle,” said Fabregas, whose Barcelona remain undefeated in 18 games in all competitions.
Under steady rain, Barcelona and Bilbao set a frenetic, up-and-down pace from the start.
Bilbao coach Marcelo Bielsa sought to beat Barcelona at their own game by pressing the European champions and looking for young playmakers Iker Muniain and Ander to create chances for Spain striker Fernando Llorente.
“We aimed to take the game to them,” Ander said.
Bilbao’s daring approach paid off when Ander received a pass from Markel Susaeta on the edge of the area and curled his right-foot shot into the right side of the net for the opener.
Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz did well to block Dani Alves’ strike from a set piece, but he could do nothing when Fabregas rose above his marker to guide home Eric Abidal’s well-placed cross to momentarily silence the crowd.
Puddles of water appeared on the pitch after halftime, slowing down the ball, but not the flow of the game.
Bilbao went ahead for the second time when Abidal’s clearance took a deflection off Llorente, before Pique inadvertently redirected it into his own net, but in the dying moments Messi pounced on his own rebound to fire into the corner of the net and earn the away draw.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was full of praise for both teams.
“How they run, I’ve never seen a team run so much, how they plug the spaces. It’s absolutely [a Bielsa] team,” Guardiola said about Bilbao, who are undefeated in 10 straight games. “What a spectacle these 22 players put on. This is one of the best games that I have been in and that’s because both teams went out to win.”
Even so, it is the first time Barcelona have trailed Real by three points since Guardiola took over as coach of his former team three years ago.
Elsewhere on Sunday, 10-man Getafe jumped from last place to 14th after rallying to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2.
Striker Helder Postiga equalized in stoppage-time to secure a 2-2 draw for Real Zaragoza against Sporting de Gijon.
Miguel “Michu” Perez scored twice as promoted side Rayo Vallecano de Madrid thrashed 10-man Real Sociedad 4-0, sending the side from San Sebastian to the bottom of the table.
Granada against Real Racing Club de Santander and RCD Espanyol versus Villarreal both finished 0-0.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS