Barca fall at the first hurdle

FC Barcelona has suffered defeat in the hands of Athletic Bilbao in the first match of the Spanish La Liga on Friday night. Athletic wrapped up the win in the dying minutes of the encounter courtesy of a superb Aritz Aduriz bicycle kick.

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Barca were shell shocked and could not get the much desired equaliser as they tasted defeat for the first time in their first match of the season since 2008. Though the San Mames has always been a difficult hunting ground for both Barca and their eternal rivals Real Madrid, many pundits were still hoping the Blaugrana would come away with a draw.

But playing without their talismanic captain Lionel Messi seems to have been a mountain too high to climb for the Camp Nou outfit. Some of the fans have been reported to lay the blame squarely at the feet of Usman Dembele who failed to perform at standard befitting of a player wearing the famous blue and deep red stripes. Also Dembele fellow countryman Antoine Griezman did not have the dream debut he was hoping for as he drew blank against the Basque outfit.

Barcelona will be hoping their influential captain would be available soon followed by a dream return of Brazilian wizard Neymar Junior.