Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Barcelona: Watch The Goals & Highlights

             

La Liga Review: Barca In Winning Start, Gijon Holds Benitez's Madrid To Goalless Draw

Barcelona opened their La Liga campaign with a victory as Real Madrid were held in Rafael Benitez's maiden competitive game in charge.

An exquisite Luis Suarez volley sealed a hard-fought 1-0 win for champions Barcelona at Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga opener as Luis Enrique's men gained a measure of revenge for their 5-1 aggregate loss in the Supercopa de Espana.

Despite Athletic's stubborn defending in the third encounter between the sides this month, Barca took the lead early in the second half through Suarez's venomous strike.

La Liga: Barca To Face Bilbao Again As Benitez Is Set To Take A Bow

Barcelona won't have to wait long to try to correct the errors that saw them lose the Spanish Super Cup to Athletic Bilbao as they return to San Mames on Sunday in their La Liga opener.

The European champions were thrashed 4-0 in Bilbao just a week ago as an under-manned Catalan defence failed to cope with the presence of Aritz Aduriz, who struck a hat-trick and then also netted in the return as the Basques won the final 5-1 on aggregate.

Barca coach Luis Enrique has even more defensive problems as his side look for revenge on league duty.

Gerard Pique Gets Four Match Ban

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique will miss the first four matches of the new La Liga season for abusing match officials in the European champions' Spanish Super Cup defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Pique was shown a straight red card in the second leg of the tie on Monday, which ended 1-1, for taking his protests towards the linesman too far as Barca failed to overcome a 4-0 first leg deficit.

The length of the ban was confirmed by Spanish football's disciplinary committee on Wednesday.
Pique will now miss Barca's daunting rematch away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and the trip to Atletico Madrid on September 12, as well as home games against Malaga and Levante.

Athletic Bilbao Wins Spanish Super Cup

Athletic Bilbao claimed their first trophy in 31 years as they drew 1-1 with 10-man Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate on Monday.

Lionel Messi had given the European champions -- who trailed 4-0 from the first leg -- a glimmer of hope with the opener two minutes before half time.

However, any realistic hope Barca had of pulling off a monumental comeback disappeared when Gerard Pique was shown a straight red card for dissent 10 minutes into the second half.

Leo Messi, The King Of Comebacks

Marca says he is the king of comebacks....... Bilbao will decide if he will be crowned or dethroned

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.

Supercopa De Espana: Luis Enrique Plots Super Come Back Against Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona must make Supercopa de Espana history by overturning a four-goal deficit against Athletic Bilbao in the second leg at Camp Nou.

A daunting task faces Barcelona if Luis Enrique's men are to become the first side in Supercopa de Espana history to overturn a four-goal deficit when they meet Athletic Bilbao on Monday.

Barca were stunned at San Mames on Friday as Aritz Aduriz bagged a hat-trick in Bilbao's emphatic 4-0 first-leg victory, some questionable defending punished by the hosts.

Barcelona Can Reverse Bilbao Defeat - Dani Alves

Barcelona defender Dani Alves is confident the Catalans can come back to beat  Athletic Bilbao in the Supercopa de Espana after they were thrashed 4-0 by the Basques in the first leg on Friday.

The Champions League winners conceded the opener from Mikel San Jose's spectacular 45-yard effort after Marc Andre ter Stegen's mistake, with Aritz Aduriz componding their misery when he stroked home Athletic's fourth from the spot after the referee awarded a penalty against Alves.

The defeat comes just days after they scraped to victory in the Uefa Super Cup, beating Sevilla 5-4 thanks to a late goal from Pedro.

Supercopa: Athletic Bilbao 4-0 Barcelona - All The Goals & Highlights

             

History Favours Barcelona Despite 4-0 In 1st Leg Clash - Luis Enrique

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said the history books give him hope heading to Camp Nou for the Supercopa de Espana second leg.

Luis Enrique said one only has to look at Barcelona's history to see they are not yet defeated in the Supercopa de Espana, despite Athletic Bilbao's 4-0 win on Friday.

After watching his side decimated by Aritz Aduriz's second-half hat-trick at San Mames, the Barca boss stayed calm in the face of crisis - the Catalans having conceded eight times in two matches.

6 Trophies Dream Over For Barcelona

The warning signs were there on Tuesday. Barcelona beat Sevilla 5-4 in a thrilling Uefa Super Cup clash in Tbilisi to take another step towards claiming the sextuple this year. But on Friday they let in four once again - and this time they didn't score any at all.

Whichever way you looked at it, this was a mess at San Mames for the treble winners. Luis Enrique's experimental side had holes in their armoury all over the pitch.

In defence, the partnership of Thomas Vermaelen (who missed the entire 2014-15 Liga season through injury bar the final fixture) and the off-form Marc Bartra was completely out of sorts, while Jeremy Mathieu was left out of the squad altogether following his poor performance in Georgia.

Athletic Bilbao 4-0 Barcelona: Aritz Aduriz Nets Hat-Trick In Surprise Win

Barcelona's defensive frailties were once again evident as the treble winners were humiliatingly thrashed 4-0 by Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana on Friday, Aritz Aduriz netting a hat-trick.

Luis Enrique's men surrendered a three-goal lead against Sevilla in the Uefa Super Cup earlier this week before eventually winning 5-4 in extra-time, but the European champions were not afforded such a dramatic escape this time around as their Basque hosts took them apart.

Seemingly sensing Barca's jadedness from Tuesday's 120-minute ordeal, Athletic were sharp in the tackle and far quicker to the ball and, although the nature of the opening goal was by no means expected, the home side deserved to open the scoring 13 minutes in.

ATHLETIC BILBAO 2 BARCELONA 5: Watch The Goals & Highlights

               

PORTO 2 ATHLETIC BILBAO 1: Ricardo Quaresma Shoots Old Champion To Victory

Quaresma's late strike helped strengthen Porto's grip on Group H of the UEFA Champions League as they beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1. The experienced winger struck 15 minutes from time at the Estadio Do Dragao on Tuesday to keep the hosts two points clear of Shakhtar Donetsk, who moved into second with a 7-0 trouncing of BATE.

Julen Lopetegui's side created the better chances early on and were rewarded when Hector Herrera opened the scoring shortly before the interval. The Mexico international coolly fired home after a sublime ball from Juan Quintero, but Guillermo Fernandez's first goal since February brought Ernesto Valverde's men level.

VIDEO: Watch Cristiano Ronaldo's 22nd Hat-Trick In La Liga

             

Lionel Messi Keeps His Eyes On The Ultimate Prize

It can no longer be considered a coincidence. Leo Messi is never one to shy away from a challenge and he had the opportunity to break Mundo's record, but did not think twice about focusing on what is best for the team as a whole. He will not be known for scoring the most consecutive goals against Athletic Bilbao, but he will be lauded for seeing his team through a complicated game against a solid and tenacious opponent.
Messi's two assists show just what kind of a player he is.

The first was a powerful but precise pass up the pitch. The second came after a series of his characteristic swerves and shimmies, which would have culminated in a shot on goal in times gone by. However, this time he finished with a cut-back. He picked out Neymar on both occasions and found Munir on others, as the youngster also made some fantastic runs but failed to produce the finish.

BARCELONA 2 ATHLETIC BILBAO 0: Neymar's Late Double Seals Victory

A late Neymar double salvaged a 2-0 La Liga win for a wasteful Barcelona over Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on Saturday. Luis Enrique's side enjoyed long spells of unrelenting pressure and produced some fine football, but Barca almost put themselves in a difficult situation by spurning a host of chances. Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz proved a difficult obstacle, denying Munir El Haddadi on several occasions and thwarting Pedro early on.

The visitors rarely troubled Claudio Bravo at the other end and they never looked like picking up a first La Liga win at Camp Nou since November 2001. Barca's woes in front of goal continued early in the second period.

Napoli Must Qualify For Champions League - Gonzalo Higuain

Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain was left angry after his side's 1-1 UEFA Champions League draw with Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

Rafael Benitez's men fell behind following Iker Muniain's first-half goal, but Higuain's 68th-minute effort ensured honours were even heading into next week's play-off second leg in Spain.

However, the Argentina forward felt his side should have done more and was enraged at the prospect of the club missing out on the competition proper.

BARCELONA: Injury Rules Puyol Out Of Athletic Clash

Barcelona's injury woes continue to mount as Carles Puyol has been ruled out of the match against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The club says Puyol, who had just been cleared to play before the Copa del Rey final earlier this week, will be unavailable after his troublesome right knee acted up again during training.

Barcelona was already without defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, striker Neymar and goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

REAL MADRID: World's Best Footballer Christano Ronaldo Handed Three Match Ban By Spanish FA On His Birthday

Spanish Football Association (RFEF) has handed Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo a three-game ban following his red card against Athletic Bilbao. The Portugal international - who celebrates his 29th birthday on Wednesday - received his marching orders in the 76th minute of Sunday's Liga encounter after an altercation with Athletic's Ander Iturraspe and Carlos Gurpegui.

Ronaldo consequently risked a suspension that could cover anything from one game to in excess of three and the RFEF has now opted to keep him out of action for three matches.