LaLiga: Barca Edge Past Athletic Club

Lamine Yamal's stunning goal secures win for Barca

LaLiga leaders Barcelona beat Athletic Club 1-0 in Bilbao, with Lamine Yamal's brilliant goal securing the victory and extending their unbeaten streak against the Basques.

Lamine Yamal's wonderful bent effort settles a tight match in Bilbao, keeping Barcelona top of LaLiga with a four-point lead...

Lamine was the hero as Barcelona edged Athletic Club 1-0 in Bilbao, restoring their four-point LaLiga lead.

The game was full of near-misses early on, with Joao Cancelo hitting the bar within 20 seconds, and Lamine Yamal's clever play almost forcing an own goal via Ferran Torres' touch.

Athletic Club's Unai Gomez suffered a nasty knee injury just 10 minutes in, and had to be replaced by Robert Navarro - a blow that threw the hosts off their game as Barca took control.

The game had slowed down significantly by half-time, with Athletic struggling to keep up as Barca dominated possession. 

Marc Bernal began to dictate the game from midfield for the visitors, though any half-chances for Barca’s front men were quickly snuffed out by Dani Vivian and Aymeric Laporte.

At the other end, Selton Sanchez should have given the hosts the lead when clean through, but Joan Garcia took the ball off his toes as he was about to pull the trigger. Shortly after, Inaki Williams looked to have opened the scoring only to be flagged offside, and Navarro flashed a cross-shot wide.

After the restart, Barca again took the initiative, with Unai Simon beating away Marcus Rashford’s on-target effort before the Englishman set up Pau Cubarsi, whose header went just wide.

Not long after, the latter was lucky to stay on the field after upending Williams when the Ghana international was clean through, and a brilliant Joan Garcia’s save from Oihan Sancet subsequently kept the scores level.

In the end, though, it was a moment of class that secured the points as, despite being extremely quiet all night, Lamine Yamal bent a wonderful effort into the top corner.

FT: #AthleticBarça 0-1

✊ Win Secured!

⁦#LALIGAEASPORTS pic.twitter.com/AVNlgwwhDA

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) March 7, 2026

Athletic Bilbao gave it their all in the closing stages, but Barcelona's goalkeeper Garcia was unbeatable, making crucial saves to secure the win. This victory extends Barcelona's unbeaten streak to six matches against Athletic, with five clean sheets in the process.

The defeat leaves Athletic five points outside the European spots, struggling to secure a spot in the top positions. Barcelona, on the other hand, remains at the top of La Liga, four points clear of Real Madrid.