Athletic Bilbao held Barcelona to a point in an uninspiring goalless draw in Sunday's La Liga meeting at San Mames.

Barcelona threatened to break the deadlock in the first period when Joao Cancelo saw his long-range strike kept out by a combination of Unai Simon and Yeray Alvarez.

Both teams searched for a breakthrough in the second period, but ultimately neither side could find a winner in a cagey contest.

As a result, Barcelona missed the chance to close the gap to leaders Real Madrid, leaving them in third place and eight points adrift of their EL Clasico rivals.

Meanwhile, fifth-placed Athletic lose ground in their quest to secure Champions League qualification, with Atletico Madrid five points clear in fourth position.

Athletic began the encounter with hopes of ending a memorable week on a high note after they thrashed Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals to seal their place in the final for the third time in five seasons.

While the opening half-hour passed by with minimal fuss, Barcelona received a significant setback when Frenkie de Jong was forced off in the 26th minute.

The Dutchman was replaced by youngster Fermin Lopez, who was involved in Barcelona's brightest moment of the contest.

Simon came racing out of his goal to deny Fermin, before he quickly had to back-peddle to get fingertips to Cancelo's audacious long-range effort, before Alvarez made a crucial goalline clearance to help out his goalkeeper.

The visitors were handed another injury blow in the closing stages of the first period, with Pedri unable to make it to half time due to an apparent muscle issue.

Unfortunately for those in attendance at San Mames, the entertainment value failed to improve after the break, as the two sides continued to cancel one another out.

In fact, an underwhelming second period produced just one shot on target, highlighting the lack of quality on display in the final third.

As the encounter ticked into stoppage time, Dani Garcia was presented with an opportunity to snatch all three points from a corner, but the midfielder could only send his header harmlessly wide of the target.

Ernesto Valverde's charges at least managed to extend their unbeaten home run to 16 matches in all competitions, while Barcelona are still yet to lose a La Liga away game this season. body check tags ::