Football. Spain. La Liga🇪🇸
Barcelona - Athletic Bilbao
Total goals over 3
Odds: 1.64
Barcelona did not take the time to swing in La Liga, the Catalans started with a crushing victory. But Athletic rather disappointed his fans, losing to Sevilla on his field.
Barcelona
Barcelona did not take time to accelerate in La Liga - in the first round, Flick's charges made a 0:5 defeat over Elche. This is a very revealing duel, let's highlight a few points at once. Rafinha is in great shape: he presses, works out around the perimeter and realizes moments.
The newcomers in the person of Adeyemi and Gordon also showed themselves perfectly, and the shadow hero was Xavi Espart, including the one who distinguished himself with the goal action. Of the minuses, we note another injury of Gavi and a very faded performance performed by Lamin Yamal. So far, the Catalans look like a very formidable team, although the composition still leaves much to be desired, at least in the defensive line.
Let's see how Flick will cope with problems throughout the season. In the last friendly matches, the blue-garnet defeated Basel - 5:2 and Al-Ahli - 2:1, even then it was clear that the team had gained excellent form before the start of the championship.
Athletic Bilbao
Let's conduct a brief analysis of the first match of Athletic Bilbao in the current season of La Liga. To begin with, it is worth mentioning that the Basques were in the minority in the duel against Seville very early and naturally lost 1:3.
But at the same time, according to statistics, they played 1.37 xG and struck 18 shots on the opponent's goal. In the second half, they completely seized the initiative, owned the ball 75% of the time. On the one hand, Sevilla itself sat on the defensive, because it had already resolved all the issues, but on the other hand, it should be noted that Bilbao in the minority was able to seize the initiative and completely dominate such a serious opponent.
There are still certain prerequisites for progress. Last year the guys failed, and during the friendly games they didn't look so stable. In the last matches, they lost to Marseille - 1:3 and Atalanta - 1:0. The nearest tours will determine a lot for Bilbao, and they urgently need to rehabilitate.
Summation
In the first round, there was a clear impression that Athletic Bilbao showed himself well in the attack, but because of the removal he could not show himself normally. Barcelona also had segments when Elche took the initiative, and for some time the underdog owned the ball even more, without giving up his bold style. In fact, we haven't really seen the defense of the Catalans yet.
I think that Bilbao is still a more formidable opponent and will impose a more serious fight. I suggest you consider a bet on the total more. It is clear that Barcelona will be a clear favorite against the background of such a spectacular start, but I would not underestimate Athletic at all either. Hansi Flick does not change his strategy - high pressing, high line of defense.
