Mikel San Jose’s wonder strike and a hat-trick from Aritz Aduriz gave Athletic Bilbao a commanding 4-0 advantage over Barcelona in the Supercopa on Friday.
Pedro Rodriguez had started Barca’s 5-4 UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla on Tuesday as a substitute, but the Manchester United target’s match-winning cameo saw him replace Rafinha from the offset on the left wing at San Mames.
Elsewhere, the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Marc Bartra and Sergi Roberto came into the fold as La Blaugrana hoped to enjoy a repeat of last season’s Copa del Rey final against the Basques, which finished 3-1 in their favour.
Athletic boss Ernesto Valverde claimed prior to kick-off that his side were owed a win over the Catalans, and such optimism was vindicated as Los Leones succeeded in limiting their opponents with a perfectly-executed pressing game.
Their performance was rightly capped by a goal – and what a goal it was – as San Jose, near the halfway line, spotted Marc-Andre ter Stegen off his line and unleashed a missile over his head.
Barca’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes, meanwhile, came at the end, when an unusually-quiet Lionel Messi had a curling free kick towards the top-left corner tipped wide by Gorka Iraizoz.
Athletic then maintained their high-octane display after the break, helped by a terrific Aduriz treble, which started with a towering header past Ter Stegen from Sabin Merino’s cross.
Just shy of 10 minutes later, a careless piece of defending from Bartra resulted in a gift for the veteran, who smashed home the ball from close range on the half-volley.
If the victory was still in doubt then Aduriz made no mistake about it once Dani Alves was penalised for a foul in his box, the 34-year-old sending Ter Stegen the wrong way.
Barca now have a mountain to climb if they are to turn the tie around and keep their hopes of a historic, second sextuple alive, while Athletic will have been especially delighted with the performances of domestic debutants Eraso and Sabin.
Athletic Bilbao 4-0 Barcelona
San Jose 13, Aduriz 53, 62, 68
Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz; De Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga; San Jose, Benat, Eraso (Gurpegi 77); Susaeta (Boveda 85), Aduriz, Sabin (Lekue 66)
BarcelonaTer Stegen; Alves, Bartra, Vermaelen, Adriano; Mascherano, Sergi Roberto (Rakitic 60), Rafinha (Iniesta 52); Messi, Suarez, Pedro (Sandro 71)
Referee: Gonzalez Gonzalez
