Dembele’s Best! Barcelona pummel Valverde’s Athletic Club and Alejandro Balde is special

On episode 404, Dan is joined by Kevin Williams to discuss Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club. They talk Dembele, Balde, Lewandowski’s finish, Kessie, and much more! Running Order: What unlocks this version of Dembele? What is missing if anything from Balde’s game? Why is Lewandowski only scoring like that in La Liga? What […]
5 Headlines from Barcelona’s 4-0 Win vs. Athletic Club | Dembélé and Balde show their ceilings

Ousmane Dembele showed the best version of himself as Barcelona smashed Athletic Club 4-0. Xavi’s four midfielder gameplan caught Ernesto Valverde off guard, and an impressive showing from Alejandro Balde was enough to quiet Nico Williams and Athletic’s right side.
5 Headlines from Barcelona’s 4-0 Win vs. Athletic Club | Xavi’s plan hits a new gear

Xavi’s vision is truly taking shape. It took some time to break down a second-best Athletic Club team, but when the goals started coming, they kept on coming.
5 Headlines from Barcelona’s 3-2 Loss vs. Athletic Club | Copa del Rey

One week of training was all Xavi got with close to his full team. Barcelona are out of the Copa del Rey, falling 3-2 in extra time to Athletic Club, but the top headline is Ansu Fati getting injured again. Pedri also came off limping, and put in a Man of the Match performance before […]
5 Things We Learned from FC Barcelona’s 1-1 Draw with Athletic Club in La Liga

It was a hard-fought 1-1 tie in one of the hardest places to play in Spain. While Eric Garcia and some others struggled, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay rose to the occasion and earned Barcelona a point against an impressive Athletic Club side.
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club 4-0 | Champions! Goals! Messi! Koeman wins his 1st | Copa del Rey Review

Champions! FC Barcelona wins its first trophy in two years with a dominant display against Athletic Club. The 31st Copa del Rey trophy in Blaugrana history was a bit of a struggle in the first half, but goals from Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, and a brace from captain Lionel Messi proved to be too […]
Barcelona, Koeman, Messi hungry for 31st Copa del Rey trophy

After losing the 2019 Copa del Rey final to Valencia, it’s been awhile (by modern Blaugrana standards) since the Catalans raised a trophy. The man standing in their way in charge of Athletic Club is Marcelino, the same man that led Valencia to the win in 2019. Now Marcelino is in charge of a team […]
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club 2-1 | Rubber match to the Blaugrana | La Liga Match Review

Culers must be happy to finally be done with Athletic Club after three meetings in a month. That said, Barcelona’s 2-1 win was much more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests. Whether the contract leak had him motivated or the red card had filled him with revenge, Messi brought some fire. The rest of the squad […]
Rubber match for Barcelona against Athletic Club with second place on the line

Three meetings with a side like Athletic Club is too many match-ups in a month. The beef between players gets worse every time they meet, with 90 minute irritations turning into 270 minutes of what may feel like a marriage on the verge of divorce. In fact, it should be unsurprising that Lionel Messi, who […]
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club 2-3 | How did another trophy slip away? | Spanish Super Cup Match Review

A win that so close but yet so far. Barcelona losing 3-2 in extra time of the Spanish Super Cup after being up in the 90th minute. Frustration that the trophy drought continues. Disgust that another lead was allowed to slip away like that. Messi’s first red card in 753 appearances put the exclamation point […]