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- Lionel Messi was sent off for the first time in his Barcelona career on Sunday as Ronald Koeman’s side were beaten 3-2 by Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final.
- Mess was shown red for “violent driving” in the dying seconds of extra time after taking a savage kick to Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre off the ball.
- The 33-year-old could now be banned for a minimum of four domestic games.
- Bilbao won the draw thanks to a superb goal by Inaki Williams, who said afterwards: “When you have heart and faith, anything is possible.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
Lionel Messi was sent off for the first time in his FC Barcelona career on Sunday as Ronald Koeman’s side were beaten 3-2 by Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Messi, who was making his 753rd appearance for Barcelona, was charged with “violent conduct” in the dying seconds of extra time after taking a savage kick to Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre off the ball.
Messi has never been sent off for Barcelona in the 753 games he has played for the club. He was however sacked twice while playing for Argentina.
The first expulsion came on his international debut against Hungary in 2005, and the second in the Copa America third-place play-off against Chile in 2019.
The 33-year-old could now be banned for a minimum of four domestic matches, with Super Cup suspensions carried over to league and cup matches.
Messi’s manager Ronald Koeman defended the Argentine after the game, saying he likely attacked because Bilbao players kept hitting him throughout the game.
“I can understand what Messi did,” Koeman said. “I don’t know how many times they’ve done it, and it’s okay to react when they keep trying to foul you as a player looking to dribble with the ball, but I need to review properly. “
Barcelona took the lead in the Super Cup final in the 40th minute thanks to Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, but Bilbao did not equalize until two minutes later thanks to a rare goal from full-back Oscar de Marcos.
Griezmann put Barcelona in the lead again in the 70th minute, before Villalibre leveled in the last minute to bring the tie back in extra time.
Inaki Williams rounded off a stunning winner to claim Bilbao’s first trophy since 2015, when he again beat Barcelona in the Super Cup.
—Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 17, 2021
“I am very happy,” said scorer Williams afterwards. “But I still haven’t dealt with what we just did. We have shown that we can compete with any other team. They can’t knock us over.”
He added: “We have shown that we are a great team and this is dedicated to all Athletic fans. When you have heart and faith anything is possible. We have worked like animals and we are. were rewarded.
“I think we are deserved winners of this Super Cup.”
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