BILBAO, Spain, March 7 (Reuters) - Barcelona's Lamine Yamal struck a superb second-half winner to earn his side a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, leaving the champions four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
In the wake of Barca's Spanish Cup semi-final exit against visitors Atletico Madrid on Thursday, and with one eye on Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg at Newcastle United, coach Hansi Flick shuffled his pack and watched his side labour through a disjointed first half in Bilbao.
Athletic created the better chances but were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who produced a string of fine saves to help the visitors stay on level terms and underlined his growing importance this season.
Flick introduced Raphinha, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski midway through the second half and the breakthrough came in the 68th minute. Pedri released Yamal inside the box running from the right channel and the 18-year-old curled a left-footed shot into the top corner to silence the home crowd.
Barcelona top the standings with 67 points after 27 games ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Friday, while Athletic are ninth with 35 points.
"We were just about ready for the match after the effort the other day against Atletico but we managed to take the three points and we're ready for Tuesday, that's what matters," Pedri told Movistar Plus.
"It was a very, very important victory earned at a hard place to play at. They put a lot of pressure on you.
"We were very tired and these are important points to keep going. We have to keep adjusting things for Tuesday, because today we didn't drive at a good pace."
In a sluggish first-half, Barca failed to test Unai Simon before halftime as Athletic controlled much of the play in front of a full house at “The Cathedral” of Basque football.
The hosts carved out the better openings but found goalkeeper Joan Garcia in stubborn mood, the keeper producing a string of fine saves to keep the champions on level terms.
Flick put Raphinha and Pedri on the bench at the start, while injuries ruled out Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde and Frenkie de Jong.
His depleted side struggled for fluency and were second best for long spells as Athletic turned in one of their sharper displays of the campaign.
The turning point came with Yamal's moment of magic settling a tight contest at San Mames as his sumptuous strike at the sold-out stadium and proved to be enough to take the points.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris)
