Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao: Five talking points
Athletic Bilbao celebrate their first trophy in 31 yearsAfter Athletic Bilbao landed a convincing knockout blow in round one of the Supercopa, mauling Barcelona 4-0 in Basque country, the return leg looked an easy task and, being the composed crop they are, Athletic made no mistake in affirming their grip on the Spanish season’s first trophy. Denied by a sturdy Bilbao back-line again and again, it took Barcelona until the brink of half time to draw first blood in leg number two, after Lionel Messi found space in the box to collect a chested ball from Luis Suarez, before dispatching past Iraizoz.The visitors’ equaliser was sandwiched between two sending offs; Gerard Pique first seeing red for hurling a barrage of verbal abuse at the linesman, before Kike Sola was dismissed for a rash challenge in the dying embers of the match. Aritz Aduriz capitalised on Piqué’s absence to bag the equaliser and end the game as a contest.Although it was never going to be decisive, this was a match rife with controversy, concerns and great football, so here are five talking points I picked up on from the game...
#1 Pique\'s dismissal nailed Barca coffin shut
In a game where the flames of victory only dwindled as the clock ticked on, it was difficult for Barcelona to maintain a positive mindset and continue pressing while holding strong at the back. One man though contributed at both ends of the field and was eager to fill any void of blank grass to keep the Catalan fire burning – Gerard Pique.
Squaring up to the linesman in a burst of rage, Pique saw a straight red for his confrontation and this all but relinquished Barca’s faint grip on the tie. The Spanish centre-half’s excellent reading of the game meant Aduriz was silenced for the first hour or so, but his departure left a yawning chasm in the heart of the Barcelona defence which the first leg’s hattrick hero utilised to snatch Bilbao’s equaliser to put the game to bed once and for all.
Not only did the dismissal leave Enriqué short of options at the back, but there were fewer outlets at the opposite end of the field too. Piqué mimicked Bilbao’s workhorse attitude to cover yards in every department and often burst a gut to get into the box and provide another attacking target. If the tie wasn’t long out of reach before, then the Spanish international seeing red certainly iced the Bilbao cake, as Barca were left needing to chase a very energetic Basque squadron that were brimming with confidence and held a healthy lead.