Barca fail to win for third straight La Liga match

Goals: Munir El Haddadi 84' - Oscar De Marcos 41'

Leaving Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets on the bench for next week's Champions League clash with Tottenham was a somewhat overconfident decision by coach Ernesto Valverde. Bilbao are not an easy opponent in La Liga, and Barca once again missed the chance to take all three points.

Without their main star in attack, Barca also lost their sharpness in finishing. The home team pressed the field for most of the time without finding a way to turn the opportunity into a goal. The most notable situation was when Arturo Vidal passed the ball to Luis Suarez to escape but his shot bounced off goalkeeper Unai Simon in the 26th minute.

Attacking a lot but not scoring, Barca had to pay the price. In the 41st minute, after center-back Gerard Pique made a mistake of being slow to get into the offside trap, Oscar De Marcos comfortably tapped the ball from close range to open the score for Bilbao.

Losing in the first half left Barca with no choice but to make changes. Immediately after the break, Busquets and Messi came off the bench. From this point on, the home team's attack became sharper and more effective.

Barca could have equalized in the 62nd minute if they had been luckier. In an attack that started from a cross from the right, Philippe Coutinho shook the Bilbao goal with a volley that hit the crossbar. Suarez was no better when he missed the rebound and the ball fell into the hands of goalkeeper Simon.

To the dismay of Barca fans, even Messi could not find his best finishing touch. Two of his three shots in the second half hit the opposing defenders, and the last hit the post.

Tens of thousands of spectators at the Nou Camp had to wait until the 84th minute to breathe a sigh of relief. Under the pressure of time and results, Messi once again played a decisive role with sharp passes. After the first cross was cleared by goalkeeper Simon, the Barca captain quickly made a second cross for El Haddadi - who replaced Ousmane Dembele in the 80th minute - to tap in from close range to level the score at 1-1.

The escape from defeat was a positive result for Barca, but once again raised concerns among fans about their form crisis. The draw with Bilbao was Barca's third consecutive match without a win in La Liga, after the matches against Girona (2-2) and Leganes (1-2).

With 14 points, coach Valverde's team could lose the top spot after this round. With only one point behind, Real could jump to the top spot if they beat Atletico in the derby.