Barcelona – Ernesto Valverde’s gamble of resting Lionel Messi backfired on Saturday as Barcelona made it three games without a victory after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Athletic Bilbao.
Messi came on in the 55th minute at the Camp Nou and it was the Argentinian’s shot that was turned in by another substitute, Munir El Haddadi, with six minutes left to play.
By then, however, Oscar De Marcos had given Bilbao a deserved first-half lead and despite a late rally, Messi and Barca could not find a winner.
After drawing at home to Girona and being beaten by Leganes, Barca will head to Wembley to face Tottenham in the Champions League on Wednesday on the back of three games without a win.
The last time Bilbao took a point at the Camp Nou, Valverde was sitting in the away team’s dug-out, in 2004, during his first spell as Bilbao coach.
Now in charge at Barca, Valverde will have questions to answer for this result, having made the bold decision to rest Messi, presumably with Spurs in mind, along with Sergio Busquets.
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