La Liga 2016-17: Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Bilbao, 5 Talking Points
Barcelona sealed off a great week with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou after a horrible game away at Real Betis last weekend. The game was kicked off by the Basque team and was played at a very high intensity in the first 20 minutes.
Bilbao’s high pressing, as always, troubled Barcelona, however, Rojiblancos were unable to convert the limited chances they had in the first quarter, managing to hit the post once. After seeing off this spell, Barcelona came into their own with Paco Alcacer netting his first league goal.
Lionel Messi ended the first half with yet another goal from a free kick. Aleix Vidal added another in the second half to seal the game.
Here are five talking points from an entertaining game that puts Barcelona only a point behind Real Madrid for the moment:
#1 Squad rotation finally works out for Luis Enrique
It is not secret that Luis Enrique has been struggling to get his tactics right for a while. However, he was criticised the most for his poorly timed squad rotation that often saw Barcelona drop points on a regular basis. Barcelona went into this game making six changes from their starting line up against Atletico Madrid earlier this week.
With a long month ahead, this move seemed logical from Enrique. Luis Suarez was rested, but Paco Alcacer proved to be a potent replacement for the Uruguayan. None of the regular midfield players was lined up but Andre Gomes, Rafinha and Arda Turan – each had a good game individually but couldn’t hold the midfield well enough.
Jeremy Mathieu seemed relaxed and composed on the left flank while Aleix Vidal on the right flank has been a revelation for Barcelona.