Copa Del Rey defending champions Barcelona have a fight on their hands if they are to remain in the competition after going down 2-1 to 9 man Athletic Bilbao in the first leg. Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz headed Bilbao in front in the 25th minute and the Spanish striker produced an audacious flick to tee up youngster Inaki Williams to volley in the second three minutes later.
Barcelona who were playing with a full strength squad responded through Lionel Messi’s stunning free-kick in the 52nd minute, but it was not enough as Athletic held on bravely despite the sending offs of Iturraspe and Raul Garcia.
Twitter users had a field time trolling Barcelona while some Barca fans felt that the referee was not on their side (despite reducing their opposition to 9 men) as he seemed to deny some clear penalty appeals. Here are the best and funniest tweets/GIFS from last night’s game:
It is safe to say that Real Madrid fans were thrilled with this result
The Barcelona fans were not happy with the referee's decisions in the second half
Woah, that's harsh
One Athletic fan had had enough of the Barcelona complaints
Lionel Messi scored another sublime free-kick. Genius.
What a way to start 2017 for Messi:
It is safe to say that the players were not happy with the decision:
Pique might get into trouble for this:
Athletic showed great determination to hang on:
Haha this still cracks me up:
Even Leo Messi’s stunning moves could not save Barcelona last night