BILBAO, Spain (March 7, 2026) (Interstat) — Barcelona began its La Liga campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés on Saturday.

A second-half substitute made the decisive difference. Lamine Yamal, entering the match off the bench, broke a stalemate in the 68th minute to secure the three points for the visitors. His goal was assisted by fellow substitute Pau Cubarsí.

The match was a physical contest, with yellow cards shown to Alejandro Rego, Cubarsí and Daniel Vivian. The result defied the pre-match projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 2-1 Barcelona win, though its ELO system heavily favored the Catalan side.

Barcelona starts the season 1-0-0, while Athletic Bilbao opens 0-1-0.