Lionel Messi on Sunday was sent off for the first time in his Barcelona career in the closing stages of extra-time as his side lost 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the Supercopa.
Messi, who returned to the lineup after missing the semi-final win over Real Sociedad through injury, was dismissed after striking Asier Villalibre in the final minute.
The Argentine had been heavily involved in a more positive way when Barca took the lead five minutes before halftime.
Photo: AFP
Messi’s goalbound effort was blocked, falling to the feet of Antoine Griezmann, who netted the first of his two goals.
Bilbao responded when Oscar de Marcos met an Inaki Williams cross two minutes later to send the sides in level at halftime.
Raul Garcia’s header was disallowed for offside by the video assistant referee after the restart as Athletic had the better chances in a tense affair.
However, Griezmann looked to have won it for the Catalans with a goal against the run of play 14 minutes from time, only for substitute Villalibre to volley home in the 90th minute.
Three minutes into the additional half an hour Williams curled a stunning effort into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area to give Athletic the lead for the first time.
“What a goal it was,” Athletic Bilbao coach Marcelino said. “It was a great piece of skill and you couldn’t produce a better finish.”
“In general, I don’t think Barca deserved to take the lead, especially in the first half, anyway,” he said. “The lads were so focused on this game and I’m so proud of them. They make your job easy and enjoyable.”
Marcelino was only named as coach this month and the 55-year-old has now beaten Barca in the past two finals they have reached after his success with Valencia in the 2018-2019 Copa del Rey final.
“It’s going to be impossible to keep up that record,” he said. “I don’t know how many semi-finals I had to play before actually reaching a final, I think it was eight, but now I’ve won in two finals.”
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS