Spanish Super Cup: Messi gives Barca the lead, but Pique red ends hope of unlikely comeback

Trailing 4-0 from the first leg, this was a bridge too far even for the mighty Barcelona.

Athletic Bilbao dashed Luis Enrique's hopes of adding the Spanish Super Cup to their overflowing trophy cabinet, defeating Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate. But when Lionel Messi (who else?) opened the scoring on the night, belief that Barca could pull off an unlikely result began to grow. Cushioning the ball on his chest before firing home, there was still over half of the game remaining. For a team of Barca's calibre, another three goals was not beyond the realms of possibility. https://twitter.com/scoresoccer/status/633389470360866816 After the break, Messi and co pressed for a second. Unfortunately from their point of view, Gerard Pique's decision to get lippy with a linesman earned him a red card. Not the first time Pique has made his feelings known to an official this week. This effectively ended the contest. https://twitter.com/KICKTV/status/633390856762978305 With Barcelona a man light and seemingly giving up on the defending, Aritz Aduriz scored the final goal of the night. https://twitter.com/DareToDiego/status/633392058699526149