As expected, the Barcelona dressing room has been rather shaken by the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup in Bilbao and the long faces on the journey back to the Catalan capital were proof of the magnitude of the debacle.
The 4-0 scoreline was humiliating whichever way you look at it, but the players did not hide behind excuses and having processed what occurred on Friday, they have already begun the physical and considerable mental preparations in order to mount a comeback that would allow them to keep their dreams of a sextuple alive. The players are convinced that they are capable of managing it, having already accomplished similar feats in the past, but they will undoubtedly need the collaboration of their main star: Lionel Messi.
Luis Enrique and all the players expressed their confidence in turning the tie around as soon as the first leg came to an end. The club has also begun a campaign highlighting Barça's chances of lifting the Spanish Super Cup by referring to a match in the very same competition against Sevilla in 2010. 'Los Culés' lost the first leg 3-1 and fired back with four in the second, three of which were thanks to Leo Messi.
There have been more recent comebacks that can serve as inspiration. 'Los Azulgranas' recovered from a 2-0 first-leg deficit in the Champions League against AC Milan in 2012-13 with a 4-0 demolition of the Italian giants at the Camp Nou including a brace by the Argentine.
Barcelona supporters are dreaming of another memorable turnaround on home turf which would prevent Athletic from lifting the Super Cup. Few would deny that for it to come true, the Argentina international will simply have to be at his brilliant best.
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