Athletic Bilbao thrashed European champions, FC Barcelona 4nil in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup at San Mames. Mikel San Jose opened the scoring after just 13 minutes with a screamer. The midfielder capitalized on an error from Ter Stegen to score from the center circle.
Arits Aduriz then went to to bag a hat trick to seal an emphatic win for Bilbao as they head on to the second leg.
It is the second time in two matches that Barcelona have conceded four goals, after their 5-4 victory over Sevilla in the Uefa Super Cup. Luis Enrique have however taken responsibility for the surprise loss owing to the significant changes he made in the squad. Luis Enrique said the changes were required after Sevilla took Barca to extra time three days earlier.
“There were a lot of changes but it had to be that way after playing for 120 minutes [on Tuesday],” the manager said. “I have made changes to the side and I accept the responsibility for the loss without hesitation.”
However, Luis Enrique was not giving up Barcelona’s quest to win six trophies in 2015, saying Barcelona can still win the Super Cup at the Camp Nou on Monday.
