Four Things We Learned From Barcelona’s Gritty Win Over Athletic Club

A stunner from Lamine Yamal saw Barça defeat Athletic for the third time this season.

Lamine Yamal’s latest moment of magic gave Barcelona all three points. | Cesar Ortiz/Soccrates/Getty Images

Barcelona had to dig deep to secure a massive win on Saturday night, defeating Athletic Club 1–0 at San Mamés to restore their four-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga title race.

The consequences of Barcelona’s monumental midweek effort against Atlético Madrid were felt against Athletic Club. A rotated and undermanned Barça side struggled to get much of anything going in the first half, looking inferior to the hosts at times.

Hansi Flick’s side improved after the break and a beautiful goal from Lamine Yamal decided the contest in Barça’s favor, complementing an inspired performance from Joan García.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Barcelona showed their character and delivered a mature away win at a difficult ground before traveling to Newcastle for the start of the Champions League round of 16.

Here’s four things we learned from Barcelona’s crucial victory against Athletic Club.

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Barcelona Won’t Go Anywhere Without Pedri

The game completely changed once Pedri was introduced. | Cesar Ortiz/Soccrates/Getty Images

Barcelona produced a shocking two total shots and a 0.05 xG in the first half at San Mamés with Pedri watching from the sidelines. Flick had enough and his midfield maestro entered the pitch after the break. By the 47th minute, Barcelona had more than tripled their xG and registered their first shot on goal.

Pedri’s importance for Barcelona becomes crystal clear whenever he’s not on the pitch. In the first half, Barcelona looked slow and unimaginative, and the game completely changed when the 23-year-old entered the fold, clarifying possessions and instantly making Barcelona more fluid in attack.

In the end, it was Pedri making a darting inside run followed by a precise cross-field pass between defenders that saw Yamal finally receive the ball in an advantageous position. The teenager then turned that pass into the assist of the only goal of the contest.

Injuries have compromised Pedri’s availability at different points of the term and it’s clear he’s still finding his way back to peak physical shape following a month on the sidelines with a hamstring issue. Still, if Barcelona want to be serious contenders in the Champions League—and in La Liga to a lesser extent—Pedri being on the pitch without fitness woes for the rest of the season is an absolute necessity.

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Joan Garcia Deserves International Debut

Joan García was Barcelona’s savior at San Mamés. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Barcelona could’ve easily lost on Saturday night were it not for another brilliant showing from Joan García. It’s true that Athletic Club mustered only three shots on target, but all three were from close range and required García to showcase his sensational reflexes to make the saves.

In a match were Spain’s starting goalkeeper, Unai Simón was standing on the opposite goal, Barcelona’s goalkeeper made a strong case to be considered to make his debut for La Roja during the March international window. It’s not that Simón needs to be demoted, but García’s performances this season are worthy of a look from manager Luis de la Fuente.

It’s true that García went through a bit of a dip recently with a handful of nervy showings, crowned by a disastrous performance against Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. But since that day, he’s conceded just two goals in five games and kept three clean sheets—including in the last two games.

The 24-year-old has already made the $28.8 million (€25 million) Barcelona paid to acquire him last summer seem like a bargain, but he’s also done everything in his power to impress De la Fuente. Spain has a number of talented goalkeepers, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if García isn’t the 2026 World Cup starter, but it would be hard to explain him not even being considered beforehand.

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Gerard Martín Has Completed Center Back Transformation

Gerard Martín delivered another solid showing in the heart of defense. | Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images

With Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde out injured, many expected Flick to deploy natural fullback replacements, João Cancelo and Gerard Martín against Athletic Club. Cancelo started on the left replacing Balde, but it was Eric García who started at right back, with Martín back to what’s become his regular spot alongside Pau Cubarsí at center back.

Natural left back Martín is no more, at least in Flick’s eyes—he’s fully transformed into a central defender. What he fails to offer consistently on the ball playing out wide he makes up for centrally with his physicality and aggression. With each passing game, he looks more comfortable in the heart of defense, and you can see why Flick has taken a gamble in switching his position this term.

Martín was flawless defensively at San Mamés, and it wasn’t until late in the game when Ronald Araújo replaced Marc Casadó that the 24-year-old finally played some minutes at left back, with Cancelo switching sides and García taking up Casadó’s spot in midfield.

Earlier in the season, Martín was essentially a non-factor, with academy left back Jofre Torrents even stealing cameos away from him. But since Flick started deploying him centrally, Martín has played consistently, and looks poised to continue doing so for what remains of 2025–26.

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Barcelona Are Developing a Yamal Dependence

Barcelona’s attack has been a Yamal (front) one-man show recently. | Cesar Ortiz/Soccrates/Getty Images

Yamal has been nothing short of sensational for Barcelona in recent weeks, but his brilliant run of performances has also masked the drop in form of seemingly every other Barça attacker. On a night were Yamal wasn’t at his dazzling best, he still created Barcelona’s only chance of the first half and scored the match-winner.

In the last three games, Yamal scored a hat trick against Levante, assisted the first against Atlético Madrid, created the action that lead to the second and then scored the only goal of the contest—a cracking one by the way—against Athletic Club.

Since the start of February, Raphinha’s form has suddenly nosedived, managing just one goal contribution—a penalty—in six games. Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Fermin López and Dani Olmo have combined to score four goals in that stretch. To make matters worse, Marcus Rashford also has no goals since the calendar turned to February.

Yamal has found the back of the net six times in that stretch to go along with a pair of assists. It’s been fellow 18-year-old Marc Bernal, a defensive midfielder, who’s stepped up while the rest of Barcelona’s attack struggles, scoring four goals in that same timeframe.

It’s imperative that the talented Barcelona forwards rediscover their mojo, because despite Yamal’s brilliance, it’s too much to ask of him to carry the entirety of the attacking burden. Barça’s attacking core have too much quality to remain dormant, but continuing this trend for much longer could dent the team’s major silverware aspirations.

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