Barcelona’s victory over Athletic Club on Thursday evening was not enough to see a member of Hansi Flick’s squad rewarded with the official Man of the Match award.

Instead, the prize went the way of Spanish national team no.1 Unai Simón.

Barcelona were of course back in action a short time ago, welcoming the aforementioned Athletic Club to Catalunya’s capital for their 2nd outing of the new La Liga campaign.

When all was said and done, the Blaugrana emerged deserved victors, thanking strikes on the part of Raphinha and Fermín López for a 2-0 triumph.

As alluded to above, though, despite a number of standout performances across the hosts’ XI, the ‘MVP’ award for the evening was handed to an opponent.

After Unai Simón conjured up a whole host of fine saves to keep the scoreline respectable for Edin Terzić’s Athletic at the Camp Nou, the shot-stopper was handed the official Man of the Match accolade post-match.