Barcelona on Friday lost their opening La Liga match for the first time in a decade, falling at Athletic Bilbao 1-0 as Antoine Griezmann could not make up for Lionel Messi’s absence.
Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz scored from a spectacular overhead kick a minute after coming off the bench in the 88th minute, handing Barcelona the loss.
Griezmann, Barcelona’s biggest off-season signing, was held scoreless in his competitive debut after joining from Atletico Madrid for 120 million euros (US$133.1 million).
Photo: EFE
It was a lackluster performance for the France forward, whose only significant scoring chance came with a header in the final minutes.
“The ball didn’t go in and in the end that’s what matters the most,” Griezmann said. “We have to keep working hard to improve and to rebound as soon as possible.”
Griezmann did not have Messi by his side as the Argentina star is nursing a right-calf injury, and he could not count on Luis Suarez either, after the Uruguay striker had to be replaced in the first half because of an apparent muscle injury.
Philippe Coutinho could not play because of a pending move to Bayern Munich on a loan, but youngster Frenkie de Jong made his competitive debut with the Catalan club after joining from Ajax.
Barcelona had most of the significant chances, being denied by the woodwork a few times.
“We weren’t ourselves,” Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. “It happens. We are coming off a pre-season, we have a lot of new players in the team. This will be good for us going forward — it’s better to lose now than in the end of the season.”
The match seemed headed to a draw when the 38-year-old Aduriz, in his final season before retiring, came off the bench and scored with his amazing overhead kick from a right-flank cross by Ander Capa.
“Football is so beautiful sometimes because of things like this. It gives you chances like this,” Aduriz said. “It will be impossible not to miss this. I’m just incredibly happy to be able to choose how I’m ending my career, and to be able to do it at the place that I love the most.”
Barcelona’s last setback in a La Liga opener was in 2008, a 1-0 defeat at Numancia in Pep Guardiola’s coaching debut with the club.
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