Barcelona blew away one of their chances of winning silverware this season after a trophyless 2020 with Lionel Messi also experiencing his first red card in his entire club career in the process.
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While the Catalans definitely played better football for the majority of the game, Athletic Bilbao’s sheer determination at the end of the game won them the Supercopa de Espana. This was a major blow to Ronald Koeman and his team and they must change their attitudes drastically if they wish to win a trophy this season.
The Catalan Kings entered the finals of the competition after a dramatic shootout in which youngster, Riqui Puig, scored the winning penalty.
Hopes were high and so were the players’ spirits, going into the finals. Antoine Griezmann who had a recent revival, once again scored two goals to give his club the lead on two separate occasions. However, things would just not go their way and Athletic’s resilience helped them get a very late goal to equalize and take the match into extra time.
Three minutes into the extra time, Inaki Williams scored a screamer to win them the cup. However, this was not the only shocking thing that night as Lionel Messi, in an uncharacteristic manner, lashed out at Asier Villalibre. It was a very frustrating night for the Argentine and emotions got the better of him near the end of the game. It is visible that the center-forward tried to block the Barcelona man’s run and in pure frustration, he snapped at the Athletic man. After a VAR check, Referee Gil Manzano showed Mess a straight red card for violent behavior.
The game was almost up by that time and the Barcelona captain did not need to do that but being kept in check by Bilbao’s defense all game, made him lose his temper. This is first red card in 753 games for Lionel Messi, in his club but this is not the first red of his career. He has been sent off twice while he was representing Argentina. Once during his international debut and once in the 2019 Copa America.
It was a disappointing night for the Spanish giants and hopefully, they can bounce back from this defeat. It will be an uphill battle to win the La Liga and an even tougher battle to win the UEFA Champions League, but Barcelona will fight as they do not want to go trophyless two years in a row.
Was the red card deserved?