Athletic Club enjoyed the better of the play in the first half, forcing two strong saves out of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and rattling the bar from a Raul Garcia header. But Barcelona broke the deadlock before half-time, with Raphinha firing into the far corner from the right corner of the box.
The Blaugrana have made a habit of winning by fine margins of late, and the same happened here. They created little in the second half but defended diligently enough to grind out a result. Ter Stegen was crucial in the final minutes, breaking out a flurry of saves as the clock ran down.
Barcelona also benefitted from VAR, which ruled out a potential late equaliser from Inaki Williams after a questionable handball in the build-up.
It was all emblematic of Xavi's new Barcelona. They created less than their opponent but were simply more clinical, and dug in enough in front of their own net to win. These aren't pretty performances, but Barca now have a nine-point La Liga lead over Real Madrid with the Clasico looming next Sunday.
GOAL rates Barcelona's players from San Mames...