Barcelona Go Nine-Point Clear Of Real Madrid After Beating Bilbao

FC Barcelona are currently leading the Spanish La Liga table with a massive 9-point gap after defeating 9th-placed Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

FC Barcelona had to wait until the last seconds of the first half to score the lone goal that gave them the victory courtesy of Raphinha’s strike.

The Spanish giants seized the lead when Raphinha intercepted a probing ball from Sergio Busquets and blasted it over goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala into the far corner.

Raphinha’s celebration was first halted by the assistant referee’s flag, but replays showed that he was solidly onside, and VAR overturned the decision.

The leading scorer for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski, had an early opportunity to score when he broke in on goal, but Agirrezabala denied him. While Williams’ attempt was blocked by Barca’s goalie Ter Stegen.

Bilbao appeared to gather momentum after Raul Garcia’s header from the resulting corner struck the crossbar.

Ter Stegen produced three superb stops on attempts from Alex Berenguer and Iker Muniain as Bilbao dominated the second half. After 90 minutes of action, the game ended 1-0 in favour of FC Barcelona.

As it stands, FC Barcelona are occupying the first spot on the league table with 65 points in 21 games. While Real Madrid are occupying the second spot with 56 points in 17 games, 9 points below Barca.