There is still time left on the clock for Bilbao to score a late equaliser, can they nick a point late on?
90' +1
I. Rakitić gets yellow.
Rakitic is booked late on for a foul on the halfway line.
90'
There will be a minimum of five minutes added time played.
87'
Into the wall! Messi is fouled and then takes the resulting free-kick himself, but his low set piece flies straight into the Bilbao wall and the visitors clear the danger.
85'
M. Braithwaite enters the game and replaces L. Suárez.
Late substitution up front for Barcelona now, with Suarez replaced by Braithwaite.
84'
Bilbao with the pressure now and Barcelona don't look particularly comfortable at the back. Raul Garcia almost gets his head onto a cross into the box after Ter Stegen came off his line to stop the cross, but misses it and luckily for Barca, Raul Garcia doesn't make contact with the ball.
82'
Barca are pushing forward in search of a second goal which would surely wrap up the victory, a crucial win in the title race and it would put the pressure back on Real Madrid.
78'
Raúl García enters the game and replaces Oihan Sancet.
Sancet is the latest player to come off the pitch and he has been replaced by Raul Garcia.
76'
Another cooling break now due to the high temperatures that the teams are playing in today. It is also a good opportunity for the Bilbao coaches to get some messages across and push their players on, as Ter Stegen hasn't been tested yet in the second half.
Minute
Description
71'
I. Rakitić has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by L. Messi.
GOOOAAALLL! Barcelona break the deadlock, they lead 1-0! Rakitic fires them into the lead after the ball falls to him in the penalty area. Messi tried to work space for the shot himself, but just can't find the space and it fires out to Rakitic who was unmarked and he smashed it past Simon and into the back of the net.
Bilbao failed to deal with danger and allowed Messi to get into the penalty area, it looks like he is about to shoot, but instead he just manages to flick it out to Rakitic who puts Barca ahead.
69'
Asier Villalibre enters the game and replaces I. Williams.
Capa enters the game and replaces Lekue.
Two more substitutions by Bilbao now, the first sees Lekue replaced by Capa.
Williams has played well for Bilbao, but hasn't been involved as much in the second half. Villalibre is his replacement.
67'
Good move by Bilbao! Muniain sprints forward and stretches the Barca defence, he tries to find Sancet in-behind but the striker isn't on the same wavelength and Ter Stegen gathers the ball.
65'
Ansu Fati enters the game and replaces A. Griezmann.
The other change sees Griezmann replaced by Fati.
Chance! Fati with a chance with his first touch since coming onto the pitch. Bilbao clear an initial corner, but Barca get the ball back into the penalty area and Fati meets it but it flies just over the crossbar.
64'
I. Rakitić enters the game and replaces Sergio Busquets.
Double substitution now for Barca, with Busquets heading off the pitch and he has been replaced by Rakitic.
63'
Messi whips the resulting free-kick into the box following the Suarez foul. It looked like Messi would go for goal, but instead he opts to chip it into the box towards Vidal, but the set piece has too much on it and it flies out of play.
62'
Unai Núñez gets yellow.
Nunez is the first Bilbao player to be booked after a late challenge on Suarez.
59'
Puig has done well since coming onto the pitch a few minutes ago, he looks lively and has been involved in some good play in the final third.
57'
Dani García enters the game and replaces Unai López.
Muniain enters the game and replaces Iñigo Córdoba.
The other change sees Cordoba replaced by Muniain.
Double substitution now by Bilbao, with Lopez coming off and he has been replaced by Dani Garcia.
56'
Riqui Puig enters the game and replaces Arthur.
Barca have made their first substitution of the game, with Arthur the man coming off and he has been replaced by Puig.
52'
It could be a long half for Bilbao as Barca are keeping the ball in their half well at the moment and the visitors are having to get everyone back behind the ball. No sign of any changes for either side yet.
48'
Bright start here by Barca, they have Bilbao penned inside their own half at the moment and are pressing forward in numbers in search of the opening goal.
46'
The second half is under way!
45' +2
HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 0-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO
45'
There will be a minimum of two minutes added time played at the end of the first half.
43'
It's difficult for Barca to break down the Bilbao defence, because when the visitors have everyone back behind the ball and are defending, they are switching into a five man defence, so there isn't much space to play into.
41'
Offside! Semedo with a lovely through ball in-behind the Bilbao defence looking for Suarez, who tries to race onto it, but Simon rushes out and smothers the ball. However, the flag goes up for offside anyway.
40'
There's not long left to play before the end of the first half now, can either side break the deadlock before the half-time whistle?
38'
There isn't enough movement by the Barcelona players in the final third, they seem to be running out of ideas as they are comfortable keeping the ball in the middle of the pitch. Alba just got into a good position down the left, but then passes the ball straight back to the visitors.
36'
Bilbao are getting themselves into some good positions in the Barca final third, but the final pass into Williams is poor and the hosts have been able to clear the danger. The same could be said of Barcelona, with a few misplaced passes at that end of the pitch.
32'
Sergio Busquets gets yellow.
The first yellow card of the game is shown to Busquets for a high footed challenge on Wiliams. Poor and unnecessary challenge by the midfielder.
30'
We have a brief stoppage in play now for a cooling break, giving both teams time to rest and take on some instructions from the bench as well. It remains goalless at the half hour mark.
28'
Bilbao have everyone back behind the ball at the moment, trying to soak up the Barca pressure as it builds midway through this first half.
26'
Busquets is controlling the midfield for Barca at the moment, linking up play with Messi. Arthur and Vidal haven't featured too much for the hosts yet.
24'
Good counter by Barca, with Messi feeding Suarez down the left, it looks like the pass was too heavy, but Suarez somehow manages to keep the ball in play. However, Griezmann is too slow to react and Bilbao clear the danger.
23'
Almost! Good move by Bilbao, with a low cross coming into the box for Williams, but Busquets just gets back in time to put the striker off and he misses the ball.
19'
The pace of the game has dropped slightly in the last few minutes, with Messi having to drop deep to get on the ball and influence the game.
15'
Another opportunity for Suarez! The striker was played through on the right and fired a shot towards the bottom left-hand corner of the net. However, he drags it well wide of the Bilbao goal.
14'
Decent opportunity! Suarez goes for goal with a low strike from the edge of the penalty area, after a lovely pass from Griezmann, the striker perhaps should've passed it back to his team-mate, but instead he went for goal and it was a comfortable save for Simon.
12'
Messi is just one goal away from 700 career goals, a remarkable achievement and one he will hope to reach tonight. The Barca captain looks very keen, as he has been lively in attack so far.
10'
Decent chance! Messi goes for a cheeky chip, trying to catch Simon by surprise from the edge of the penalty area. However, the keeper reads it well and makes a comfortable save.
9'
Excellent high press by Barcelona, they aren't allowing Bilbao any time or space on the ball to play out from the back. However, as they are playing quite a high line, it leaves them open to a long ball over the top.
7'
It's end-to-end at the moment, with both teams pressing forward and looking for the opening goal early on. Barca are edging possession, but Bilbao look keen to counter quickly, with the pace of Williams up front.
5'
Barca chance! The hosts respond to the Bilbao chance at the other end with an opportunity of their own. Messi dribbles into the box and does superbly, finds Alba and a low cross comes into the box, but Suarez just can't get to the ball in time and Simon pounces.
3'
Bilbao win the first corner of the game, after Balenziaga's cross was well blocked by Pique. Can the visitors carve out an early opportunity?
2'
Good early move by Barcelona down the left wing, with Alba getting forward straight away, but the pass from Suarez into his path is slightly too heavy and it goes out of play.
1'
We're under way!
BARCELONA SUBS: Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitic, Junior Firpo, Inaki Pena, Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, Monchu, Ronald Araujo, Alex Collado, Neto.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Arthur, Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann.
BILBAO SUBS: Dani Vivian, Iker Muniain, Ander Capa, Mikel San Jose, Unai Vencedor, Gaizka Larrazabal, Iago Herrerin, Dani Garcia, Kenan Kodro, Asier Villalibre, Raul Garcia, Inigo Martinez.
BILBAO (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Oscar De Marcos, Unai Nunez, Yeray Alvarez, Mikel Balenziaga; Unai Lopez, Mikel Vesga; Inigo Lekue, Oihan Sancet, Inigo Cordoba; Inaki Williams.
The teams are out on the pitch and kick-off is just a few minutes away, stay tuned for all of the match action!
As the half went on the pace of the game dropped and there seem to be a few tired Barca players, with an injection of pace needed for the second period. Whilst Bilbao look fresh after their six changes from the weekend.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE match commentary of LaLiga clash between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou.
Barcelona dropped to second in LaLiga at the weekend after a 0-0 draw with Sevilla, allowing Real Madrid to capitalise and jump to the top of the table. Since the season re-start, Barca have won two and drawn one of their three games, with those victories coming against Mallorca and Leganes.
Bilbao are also unbeaten in their last three games, with two draws and a victory last time out coming against Real Betis, which sees them sit ninth in LaLiga. They are just five points off the European qualification places, with Villarreal occupying seventh spot.
That's all from us today folks, we hope you enjoyed the game!
Barcelona are now top of LaLiga ahead of Real Madrid, who play tomorrow and Barca need their rivals to drop points. Next up for Barca is a trip to Celta Vigo, whilst Bilbao will welcome Mallorca.
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