Barcelona hadn't conceded a goal in almost 900 minutes of football across all competitions, but they hadn't faced Athletic Bilbao either. The hosts went 1-0 ahead inside 20 minutes against the world's top side, and the goal was hardly undeserved in a back and forth game that sees Athletic fairly evenly matched against their illustrious guests.
Athletic BIlbao Vs. Barcelona, 2011 La Liga: Teams Exchange Goals In 1st Half
The goal came after a poor tackle attempt from not-really-a-centre-back Javier Mascherano as Susaeta skipped clear down the left touchline, and once he'd gotten past Mascherano it was all to easy to pick out Ander Herrera at the top of the box, and the midfielder cracked a wonderful first-time finish past Victor Valdez.
Barcelona weren't down for very long (did you really expect them to be?) and responded with a great chance by Dani Alves, which was cleared and a second great chance for Cesc Fabregas, which was not. Eric Abidal sent in a beautiful cross from the left for the former Arsenal captain to nod past Gorka Iraizoz for the equaliser. All square at 1-1.
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