Nine-man Athletic Bilbao seized the advantage in their Copa del Rey last-16 clash against Barcelona with a 2-1 first-leg victory at San Mames on Thursday.
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The Basque club scored two goals in the space of three first-half minutes as Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams both found the back of the net.
Lionel Messi curled home a free-kick after the break to earn Luis Enrique’s men a precious away goal heading into the reverse clash at Camp Nou next Wednesday.
But although Raul Garcia and Ander Iturraspe both saw red towards the end of the affair, Barcelona couldn’t salvage an equaliser with Messi striking the post in the dying seconds of the game
