Pedri 8.5, Yamal 8.0 | Athletic Club 0-1 Barcelona: Player ratings | OneFootball

A nerve-racking encounter at San Mames ends up in victory for FC Barcelona away from home. Despite putting up a valiant fight, Athletic Club were ultimately unable to thwart the Catalan giants and ended up losing the game.

With the game ending 1-0, the victory came thanks to a sensational finish by Lamine Yamal. However, it was hardly an easy victory, and La Blaugrana now extend their lead at the top of the table to four points again.

Here are the ratings for the Barça players.

Starting XI:

Joan Garcia: 8.5/10

Made a couple of brilliant saves to keep Barcelona in the game even when they had not scored. Top performance from the sensational Spanish goalkeeper.

Eric Garcia: 8.0/10

Immense in his duels and his passing was solid as well, the Spaniard made sure that Athletic Club’s forwards were never comfortable. Great outing from him.

Pau Cubarsi: 7.0/10

Struggled in his duels a bit and saw the opposition get past him on certain occasions. His distribution, on the other hand, was exceptional and helped Barcelona open up some opportunities for themselves.

Gerard Martin: 8.0/10

Much more composed in his duels compared to Cubarsi, and did really well with his passing as well. Splendid outing for the Spanish defender in this game.

Joao Cancelo: 7.0/10

Made some promising runs and linked up well with his teammates throughout the game. However, he slipped up on a few occasions and was not exactly perfect on the night either.

Marc Bernal: 7.0/10

Was doing well with his distribution, and he consistently won his duels as well. However, since Barça needed more creativity in midfield, Hansi Flick opted to replace him with Pedri.

Marc Casado: 7.0/10

Solid with his passes and did well to facilitate his teammates by covering open spaces. While he lacks the creativity that Pedri possesses and the sheer strength that Bernal provides, he made up for it through energy in the midfield.

Lamine Yamal: 8.0/10

Despite looking quiet for much of the game, Lamine Yamal only needed one moment to change the game. An exquisite finish that found the top corner ended up being the decisive goal for this game, and ended up being yet another extraordinary display of brilliance from the young winger.

Dani Olmo: 7.0/10

Clever in tight spaces and did well to create some openings for his teammates. However, beyond showcasing his trickery, he was restricted quite well by the Basques.

Marcus Rashford: 6.0/10

Made some good runs, and his pace really disturbed Athletic Club on that left wing at times. However, he was ultimately unable to make anything meaningful happen with his quality.

Ferran Torres: 6.0/10

Ineffective yet again, Ferran Torres continues to be frustrating in front of the goal. He made some decent runs, but they almost never amounted to anything meaningful.

Substitutes:

Pedri: 8.5/10

Changed the entire game for Barça, and thanks to his involvement, the team began to gel together much better. Beyond creating chance after chance, he also provided the crucial assist for Lamine Yamal’s goal.

Fermin Lopez: 7.5/10

His intensity and willingness to carry the ball made a huge difference for Barcelona in a game where they needed that kind of initiative.

Raphinha: 7.0/10

Unwilling to stop at any cost, the Brazilian forward came into the game with a desire to make life difficult for the opposition. Fortunately, that is exactly what he did with his intensity and pressing.

Robert Lewandowski: 6.0/10

Added some physicality to the team, and his presence in attack definitely made things more problematic for the opposition.

Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.