Reuters, Bilbao
Memphis Depay scored his first goal for Barcelona to salvage a 1-1 draw away to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in LaLiga, while defender Eric Garcia was shown a straight red card in added time for a last-ditch foul.
Athletic defender Inigo Martinez had given the hosts a deserved lead in the 50th minute by heading home from a corner after his side had dominated the first half and seen a shot cleared off the line at the start of the second.
Barca struggled to cope with Athletic’s intensity but cashed in when the Basques took their foot off the gas and seemed content to defend their lead rather than look for a second goal.
Frenkie de Jong hit the crossbar with a sumptuous chip and moments later Depay levelled in the 75th minute with a thunderous strike from a tight angle, his shot flying beyond the reach of helpless Athletic keeper Julen Agirrezabala.
The Netherlands forward then could have snatched all three points for Barca when he again got down the left hand side of Athletic’s area, but this time he looked to place his shot and dragged it wide of the far post.
Barca defender Gerard Pique had limped off in the first half for Ronald Koeman’s side, who were playing their second game of the season after thrashing Real Sociedad 4-2 at home last week, in their first league match since Lionel Messi left for Paris St Germain.
Garcia was shown a straight red card on his second outing for Barca when he hauled down Athletic forward Nico Williams on the edge of the area, but the hosts failed to capitalise from the resulting free kick.
“We did not play a good game, we moved the ball far slower than usual and we have to improve a lot,” said Barca forward Antoine Griezmann.
“They pressed us very well and caused us a lot of damage while we made a lot of sloppy passes. We have to fix this because our opponents will start to notice and will be able to see how they can hurt us.”