Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
The lead at the top of the table was extended to three points, as Barca ran out comfortable two goal winners...

Barcelona ran out comfortable winners at the Camp Nou on Saturday night, with their only regret being that they did not score more.

Pep Guardiola put out an attacking line-up, playing the home grown trio of Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi in midfield.

Joaquin Caparros, meanwhile, decided to pack the midfield with five players, leaving Fernando Llorente to lead the line on his own.

First Half

As expected, Barcelona dominated the possession in the opening exchanges, althought Athletic had enough forays forward to show that they were not here just to park the proverbial bus. Events in midweek had conspired to make this a dress rehearsal of the Copa del Rey final, and neither side was eager to give away any secrets.

For all of Barca's possession, Athletic were looking dangerous on the counter, and Yeste wasted an excellent chance on 15 minutes to give them a shock lead. Released by Javi Martinez as the Barca defence looked for a non-existent offside trap, he could only blast wide when faced with just Victor Valdes to beat. It would prove to be the costliest of misses, as Barca immediately went up the other end and scored, Sergio Busquets rising majestically to head in a Xavi free-kick.

The goal seemed to lift Barcelona to another level, as they began to enjoy more space in midfield, making it very hard for Athletic to build any momentum. However, the visitors managed to limit the amount of genuine chances Barca were creating, keeping themselves in the match with just a one goal deficit.

Those plans were laid to ruin on the half hour though, when Gurpegui was adjudged to have brought down Andres Iniesta in the box, giving Lionel Messi the chance to score from the spot. It was a decision that could be seen either way depending on whose side on the fence one was on; there was certainly some contact, but Iniesta did not need any encouragement to go to ground. Messi was not bothered, as he cooly sent Iraizoz the wrong way to give Barca a two goal lead.

Barcelona were rampant now, and the crowd's mood was heightened further as news of a Diego Forlan goal at the Bernabeu spread around the stands. Samuel Eto'o then tried to add a spectacular touch to the evening, as his bicycle kick from a Puyol cross flew over the bar. Athletic were clearly dejected, and appeared to be waiting for a chance to re-group at the break. On 41 minutes, Lionel Messi nearly bettered his famous goal against Getafe, as he turned on the halfway line and jinked his way to the very edge of the six yard box, before a last ditch challenge stopped him from creating something truly special.

The visitors managed to hold out for the remainder of the half, but it was the home side who had enjoyed the first period, as they extended their provisional lead at the top of the table to seven points, with half the game to go.

Second Half

Joaquin Caparros wasted no time in trying to make changes, withdrawing Javi Martinez for Toquero at the break. That was nearly rendered irrelevant by Iniesta though, who saw his shot from just outside the box cannon back off the post. Samuel Eto'o then went close with a header, but Iraizoz pulled off a spectacular save, as news of a Huntelaar equalizer at the Bernabeu came through.

With ten minutes gone in the second period, Barcelona had about four chances to score in the space of a minute. A Pique header was cleared off the line, and the resulting corner resulted in three point blank changes, two of which were saved on the line, before Carles Puyol blasted over the bar. Based on chances alone, Barca should have wrapped this match up, but Athletic managed to stay vaguely within touching distance.

The chances continued to pile up, but the woodwork denied the home team once more, this time as Eto'o smashed the ball onto the cross bard, after good work by Puyol on the right. It was a truly dominant performance from the Blaugrana, but the frustration that the lead had not increased was evident on the touchline. They continued to pour forward without much threat from Athletic, but the third goal just would not come.

Barca continued to threaten the Athletic goal without a finish, but at the very least, their constant pressure virtually eradicated any chance Bilbao had of mounting an attack. Samuel Eto'o seemed to be destined not to score, as Iraizoz came to Athletic's rescue for the umpteenth time. There was a brief scare for Barca late on as Puyol had to be replaced by Victor Sanchez, but at first glance it seemed to be more a problem with a faulty shinpad than a threatening injury.

The match ended as it had begun, with Iraizor pulling of yet another save, this time from Henry. It was a job well done for Barcelona, who extended their league to six points, after all the shenanigans of recent weeks. Their attention will now turn to Lyon, who will be hoping for a better result than Athletic Bilbao could manage.

Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
Busquets 16, Messi 31

Barcelona: Valdes - Puyol (Victor Sanchez 90), Pique, Marquez, Sylvinho - Busquets, Iniesta (Gudjohnsen 81), Xavi - Henry, Messi, Eto'o

Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz - Iraola, Gurpegui, Amorebieta, Koikili - Orbaiz, Javi Martinez (Toquero 45), Susaeta, Gabilondo - Yeste - Llorente (Garmendia 60)

Yellow Cards: Javi Martinez 21,Orbaiz 46, Eto'o 50, Iniesta 57, Amorebieta 59, Busquets 69, Toquero 85

Barcelona increased their lead at the top of the table once again with a comfortable win over Athletic Bilbao that came thanks to goals from Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi. Goal.com watched the game and gave each player a mark out of ten...

Valdes 6 - Had very little to do as Athletic rarely had a shot on target, and he will be pleased to have been able to stay out of the spotlight.

Puyol 7 - A rampaging performance down the right from the captain as he looked to fill Dani Alves' boots going forward, and his own when tracking back.

Sylvinho 6 - Did not involve himself much, but looked a lot more assured this weekend than he did last time out against Atletico de Madrid.

Pique 7 - Having been criticised for some of his performances this term, the centre-half looked assured and used his strength to stop Llorente.

Marquez 6.5 - Looked uncomfortable at times but he helped to hold together the Barcelona defence early on when there were signs of nerves.

Busquets 6.5 - A better performance from the midfielder too after a couple of games in which his standards dropped, and he took his goal well.

Iniesta 7.5 - Showed some very good touches as well as winning the penalty that gave Barcelona a cushion, and was unlucky not have had an assist.

Xavi 7 - Controlled and calm, the playmaker was able to move the ball about in the way that he likes as Athletic sat off and gave him some space.

Henry 5.5 - His game did improve in the second period, but only because he moved slightly more into the middle where he missed several good chances.

Eto'o 6 - Had so many chances it was surprising that he did not add to his goals tally and was slighlty too keen to create for himself and not others at times.

Messi 7 - Showed touches and created chances for others after netting his penalty while attracting some hefty tackles from the opposition throughout.

Substitutes:

Gudjohnsen 5 - Was unable to find his feet as Guardiola made his changes very late in the game despite the Champions League game in midweek.

Victor Sanchez 5 - The youngster will just have been pleased to be considered again having played for Barça Atletic for the past few weeks.




ATHLETIC CLUB

Iraizoz 7.5 - Made a number of very good stops to keep the scoreline down and deny Eto'o from netting the goal that he evidently wanted so badly.

Iraola 6 - Was able to keep Henry quiet for long periods and it was only when the Frenchman moved into the centre that he was able to do more.

Gurpegui 5.5 - Gave away the penalty and looked uncomfortable for most of the time as Eto'o found space time and again to try and open his account.

Amorebieta 5.5 - Slightly more assured than his central partner, but not much, and he too will have been pleased that only two goals were conceded.

Koikili 6 - Will have been pleased with his night's work as Messi had to move into the middle to find space, but Puyol did cause him the odd problem.

Orbaiz 5 - Was mainly involved in controversial incidents and spent a lot of time talking to the referee or picking himself up having fouled or been fouled.

Javi Martínez 5.5 - Did not do a bad job in the first half and it can only be assumed that he had a knock and had to be replaced at the break.

Susaeta 5 - Was not a central figure for Athletic and that must have been a concern to coach Joaquin Caparros.

Gabilondo 6 - Put himself about and as well as pushing forward he worked back to help his team out with a tireless display in midfield.

Yeste 5 - Missed an absolute sitter in the opening exchanges and was then unable to find enough tie and space to show his creative side.

Llorente 5 - Showed the odd touch to cause Barça problems, but did not do anywhere near enough and rarely held the ball up before being taken off.

Substitutes

Toquero 5 - Slotted in seamlessly and was involved on occasion as he showed a physical willingness to help his side with some tough tackles.

Garmendia 5 - Came on and did not have much effect on the game, but by then Barcelona were already in control and heading for victory.

Munoz 5 - Did not have time to do much, although he did not do anything wrong either, and was able to maintain the status quo.