Madrid: Ivan Rakitic’s first-half header maintained Barcelona’s 100 per cent start to the La Liga season as the champions withstood a wave of late pressure to win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.
Rakitic finished off an excellent team move after 20 minutes, but with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez uncharacteristically wayward in front of goal, Athletic nearly grabbed a point when Benat Etxebarria’s free-kick flew just wide late on.
Barca join Real Madrid and top-of-the-table Las Palmas as the only sides with two wins from their first two games. Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid are already four points off the pace after disappointing draws against newly-promoted Alaves and Leganes.
Still without Neymar due to his exertions in winning Olympic gold and the injured Andres Iniesta, Barca demonstrated their greater strength in depth this season as new recruits Denis Suarez and Samuel Umtiti shone, while Arda Turan proved an able deputy for Neymar alongside Messi and Suarez.
Ter Stegen was featuring in La Liga for just the eighth time in his third season with the Catalan giants as Bravo had been first choice in the league for the past two seasons. And the German’s notorious desire to play out from the back nearly cost Barca the opener on 12 minutes when he gifted the ball to Benat, but made amends by repelling the midfielder’s fierce effort with his face.
Barca went ahead in fine style eight minutes later when Suarez fed Turan down the left and the Turk’s cross was met with a bullet header at the back post by Rakitic. Barca failed to take advantage of a series of chances to extend their lead either side of the break as Gorka Iraizoz turned Messi’s header to safety before Turan shot into the side-netting with a furious Suarez waiting for a cross in the middle. Messi and Suarez both fired inches wide when presented with the type of chances they normally convert early in the second period.
