Barcelona's quest for the Spanish Super Cup ended in a 3-2 defeat to Athletic, leaving Ronald Koeman without his first trophy as manager and seeing Lionel Messi sent off. While Antoine Griezmann scored twice to put Barca ahead twice, a stunning extra-time goal from Inaki Williams secured the win for Athletic.
Ronald Koeman passed a chance of lifting his first trophy as Barcelona manager on Sunday and saw the side’s talisman Lionel Messi sent off in a 3-2 defeat to Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup. Barca twice drove the game, through Antoine Griezmann’s goals. But that wasn’t sufficient as Inaki Williams scored a splendid goal at the extra time to seal an exuberant victory.
The first half saw Athletic dominate the pace, highlighted by a strong effort from Capa that ter Stegen had to block. On the other side, Messi tried his luck from distance, but his shot sailed over the crossbar before the whistle blew for halftime.
Barca finally broke through in the 40th minute when Alba and Messi carved open the defense, allowing Griezmann to slot the ball past Unai Simon. The lead was fleeting, however, as Oscar De Marcos leveled the score just two minutes later by sneaking through Clement Lenglet's marking to beat ter Stegen.
Athletic returned for the second half with intensity, nearly scoring through a Raul Garcia header from a set-piece, though Barcelona breathed a sigh of relief when VAR overturned the goal for offside.
The pressure from Athletic continued, including a wide shot from Inaki Williams following a defensive error by Ronald Araujo. Barca struggled to create clear chances but managed to lead again in the 77th minute, as a great run down the left by Alba set up Griezmann for his second goal of the night.
Barca had few goes at goal however they struck in the 77th minute. An incredible drop down the left saw Alba cross for Griezmann to clear home his second of the evening.
It looked as though Barca had it won, but Athletic fought back to equalize in the 89th minute via an Asier Villalibre finish from an Iker Muniain free-kick. Just three minutes later, Athletic snatched the lead for the first time when Inaki Williams was left unmarked and unleashed a powerful 25-yard strike into the net.
In a desperate attempt to save the game, Koeman introduced Riqui Puig and Francisco Trincao for the final stretch. Barca pushed for an equalizer, nearly scoring when Nunez almost put a Messi free-kick into his own net, and Griezmann missed a volley from an Alba cross. The frustration peaked in the closing minutes when Messi was shown a red card for an altercation with Villalibre, sealing a miserable end for the Catalan side.
Barca had opportunities to pull one back as well. Nunez nearly put a Messi free-kick into his own goal, while Griezmann volleyed an Alba cross wide of the target. However, Barca couldn’t find a third goal and their hopelessness was exacerbated late when Messi saw red in the wake of lashing out at Villalibre in the last minutes of the game.