Leo rescues late point for Barca

It was touted to be a sort of clash of the titans between Barca’s Pep Guardiola and Athletic Bilbao’s Marcelo Bielsa and had been an eagerly anticipated match. The rain suddenly found itself as the main protagonist last night and a breathless encounter in Bilbao produced a 2-2 draw.

Barcelona’s Victor Valdes was beaten for the first time in 10 matches when Bilbao’s Ander Herrera fired the home team in front just after 20 minutes. Then it was Barca’s turn with Cesc Fabregas who headed the Catalans level four minutes later.

A water deluged pitch just added to the tension of the game and the terrible conditions contributed to late goals from both sides.

A corner from Bilbao just 10 minutes from full time was cleared away badly by Eric Abidal and the ball bounced off two players before it was edged past keeper Valdés by Gerard Pique.

The closing minutes of the game was frantic and typical Barca, who, like an aggressive wolf looked to finish off its prey. Bilbao’s Fernando Amorebieta was then sent off for a second yellow and Barca stung the home side with an equaliser after a free kick, which bounced around the penalty area like a pinball until it fell to the feet of Leo Messi who made no mistake and scored his 14th goal of the season.
After the match Cesc Fabregas told Spanish TV: “We have shown a lot of character and maintained our unbeaten start. It was a very difficult match especially in the second half with such a wet pitch”.

“It was typical match at San Mames against a team with a great spirit and fantastic fans” Fabregas added.