Rakitic secures Barca win
IVAN Rakitic scored in the first half to help Barcelona win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday for a second straight victory at the start of the Spanish league season.
The Croatia midfielder headed in a well-placed cross by Arda Turan to cap a quick attack that broke down Bilbao’s high defensive line in the 21st minute. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were both off-target with a handful of opportunities to seal the victory at San Mames Stadium, but Barcelona’s dominant possession game never let Bilbao mount a serious challenge.
“The matches here are always like this, intense and attractive. We played a good match,” Rakitic said. “This shows that we are already in form even at this stage of the season.”
The defending Liga champion joined Real Madrid and the surprising Las Palmas, which routed Granada 5-1 also on Sunday, as the only teams to have taken all six points.
Elsewhere, Sevilla drew 0-0 at Villarreal, while Sporting Gijon drew 0-0 at Alaves.
Barcelona’s win was its 100th in 126 league matches under coach Luis Enrique, who is starting his third season after winning the last two leagues, along with several other titles including a Champions League crown.
In England, Manchester City kept pace with likely title rival Manchester United and Chelsea by beating West Ham 3-1 on Sunday for a third straight victory in the English Premier League season.
Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho scored in the opening 18 minutes for City, which carved West Ham open at will in a dominant first-half display that showed Guardiola’s influence is already rubbing off on his players. But West Ham improved in the second half and Michail Antonio’s 58th-minute header made City work for its win, which was sealed by another goal by Sterling in injury time when he rounded the goalkeeper and scored from a narrow angle.
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