Liga: Barça draw with Athletic Bilbao and miss the chance to close the gap on Real
FC Barcelona missed the opportunity to close the gap to six points behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, settling for a draw away to Athletic Bilbao (0-0) on Sunday, March 3, just ten days before facing Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 second leg.
The reigning Spanish champions, FC Barcelona, missed the opportunity to close the gap to six points behind the league leader, Real Madrid, as they settled for a draw (0-0) away to Athletic Bilbao on the 27th matchday of La Liga on Sunday, March 3rd.
Despite remaining in 3rd place with 58 points, Barcelona failed to capitalize on their Madrid rivals’ slip-up in Valencia on Saturday (2-2) to narrow the margin and still sit eight points adrift at the top, with a Clasico at the Santiago Bernabéu still to play.
Athletic Bilbao sits in 5th place, five points behind Atlético Madrid (4th, 55 points), who won against Real Betis (2-1) earlier in the day. In a closely contested yet ultimately lackluster match, the Catalan club failed to create danger. Girona remains 2nd in the league despite their defeat away to Mallorca (1-0).
Furthermore, Barcelona suffered a double blow with their key players Frenkie de Jong, who sustained an ankle injury (24′), and Pedri, who suffered a thigh injury (43′), having to leave the field. Two significant losses for the Blaugrana, just ten days before the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Napoli.
