Injury concerns mount as Barcelona beats Athletic Bilbao to open La Liga

Barcelona’s lack of success against Athletic Bilbao ended. Its uneasy start to the season continued.

Luis Suarez scored the game’s only goal as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to open defense of its La Liga title on Sunday, but injuries to Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets marred the victory.

Barcelona’s last visit the San Mamés Stadium was an ugly 4-0 loss in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Aug. 14, and the Catalans could only manage a draw at home against Bilbao in the second leg as their dream of a six-trophy calendar year came crashing down.

This time, Suarez and Jordi Alba teamed up to rescue three points from a rather dull affair. Barcelona enjoyed 67 percent possession and had a chance to take the lead in the first half, but Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz denied Lionel Messi a penalty kick:

Thanks to some other nice saves by Iraizoz, Barcelona couldn’t convert its dominance into goals. At least until the 54th minute, when Alba floated a cross into the box and Suarez capitalized with a world-class finish:

It was a welcome moment of joy for Barcelona after losing Alves just 16 minutes into the match. Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, who tormented Barcelona with four goals in the Spanish Super Cup, made contact with Alves from behind on a challenge, and the impact stretched Alves’ left leg and appeared to result in a groin injury.

Busquets went down in the 66th minute when he landed awkwardly on his right leg and had to be stretchered off. The losses of Busquets, one of the finest defensive midfielders in the world, and Alves will be felt by a Barcelona back line still coping without Gerard Pique, who received a four-game suspension for an outburst directed toward a linesman in the Spanish Super Cup.

Thomas Vermaelen performed admirably in Pique’s absence, playing a strong, composed game in keeping Bilbao scoreless. Making only his third appearance in a Barcelona shirt, the oft-injured Vermaelen made up for an embarrassing performance in the loss to Bilbao nine days ago.

He’ll have to keep it up as Pique won’t be back for another month. Neymar returned to training with Barcelona on Saturday after a bout of mumps, but the injuries to Busquets and Alves further cloud the start to the Catalans’ campaign.

They’ll need more results like the win over Bilbao to help clear things up.