adminMADRID. — Barcelona maintained their slim chances of retaining their Spanish La Liga soccer title as they came from behind to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
Aritz Aduriz’s opener five minutes into the second-half had Barca on course for a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
However, the Catalans showed fine spirit to respond as two goals in as many minutes from Pedro Rodriguez and Lionel Messi handed them all three points.
Victory lifts Barca into second place, two points ahead of Real Madrid having played a game more, but still four points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid with four games remaining.
Defeat for Athletic also hots up the race for fourth place as the Basque side now lead Sevilla by just three points with the two sides set to meet next weekend.
After a difficult 10 days which saw his side eliminated from the Champions League, lose the Copa del Rey final to Real Madrid and see their title chances dented by defeat at Granada last weekend, Barca boss Gerardo Martino hailed his players resolve.
“In the first half I was thinking it would be one of those days because it is not normal that a team has so many chances and doesn’t score.
“They kept playing and with a lot of heart in a difficult situation. More than just playing good football, which they always do, they showed a lot of courage and heart.” — AFP.
Online Reporter