Athletic Club 0-0 Barcelona: Player ratings as Pedri and De Jong suffer injuries in bore draw

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri both went off injured during Barcelona's drab 0-0 draw with Athletic Club in La Liga on Sunday evening.

Barca had gone into the game hoping to avenge their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic earlier in 2024, but their offensive plans were totally scuppered by the injuries suffered by their star midfield duo.

The result means that Xavi Hernandez's side missed the opportunity to move up to second place in La Liga, failing to capitalise on Girona's 1-0 defeat to Mallorca.

The opening 30 minutes were fiercely contested by both sides, with neither side able to really grab a foothold in proceedings.

Things began to turn in Athletic Club's favour however when Frenkie de Jong was forced off with a worrying ankle injury — twisting it after going up for an arial duel. Without their usual out-ball in the middle of the park, Barca proved to be less resistant to the home side's high press, leading to a few half-decent opportunities as a result.

Despite Athletic taking some control of proceedings, it was the visitors who'd come closest to opening the scoring before the half-time whistle.

After spotting Unai Simon well off his line after sweeping up a through ball over the Athletic Club defence, Joao Cancelo would see his near 50 yard (yes, 50 yard) chipped effort be prevented from going over the line by a mix of Simon's fingertips and defender Yeray Alvarez.

Barca's injury woes would go from bad to worse before the half-time whistle, as Pedri hobbled off with yet another hamstring injury in added time at the end of the first 45.

The injured suffered by Pedri proved to totally scupper Barca's offensive shape and were pegged back into their own half for much of the rest of the game. The back four were able to