It was hard for Barcelona at home against defensively skilled Athletic Bilbao. Despite the pressure from the visitors' goal, 70 minutes into the game, Ivan Rakitic had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury.

The Croat could free from just a meter put the ball into the net behind Unai Simón.

"An important goal in a difficult match, but in the end I was able to set my first goal for the season, and I can dedicate it to my wife and our daughters after a difficult time in the quarantine," the victory shooter said in a television interview after the match.

With the victory, Barcelona puts a little pressure on rival Real Madrid. With a match more played, the Catalans lead the series with three points, but Real Madrid can take back the series lead by victory at home against Mallorca on Wednesday night.

The two giants are 13 and 10 points ahead of the Atlético Madrid league team, which earlier on Tuesday night defeated Levante by 1-0. It was the club's third straight victory in the league.

- We are very happy to win again and when the team around us (in the table) loses points we are approaching our goal, says Marcos Llorente, who was last on the ball before Levante's Bruno Gonzalez sent the ball into his own goal.

CLIP: Messi behind everything in the restart

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