FC Barcelona has just received a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Club Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the 2015 Spanish Super Cup. The match took place on Friday, August 14 at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao. The reigning La Liga and European Champions have Mount Everest to climb if they wish to bring home their fifth trophy of the year.

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Barcelona were the clear favorites entering the Super Cup but in a shocking outcome, they were completely overpowered by Bilbao. The Basque team was led by Aritz Aduriz, who scored a second half hat-trick. The Catalan giants showed a chink off their defensive armor earlier in the week when they also allowed 4 goals against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.

Luckily on that occasion, their offensive team worked hard and they managed to stay level to force extra-time. Some heroics from substitute Pedro gave them the victory, but such was not the case on Friday night.

BBC shared a play-by-play live report of the game and until the end of the first half, no one would have predicted such a heartless thrashing. The match started predictably enough with Barcelona taking early control. However, Mikel San Jose put his foot down in the 13^th minute and slammed the ball into the net with a well-composed shot.

The momentum shifted and Barcelona were clearly shocked to find themselves behind. Lionel Messi failed to make his presence felt and the frustration was clear in the Barcelona camp. Near the end of the half, Pedro received a yellow card and Bilbao's Javier Eraso joined him in the books shortly after.  Messi made his first significant contribution through a brilliant free-kick but Bilbao keeper Gorka Iraizoz delivered an even more brilliant save.

Both teams headed into the tunnels to ponder their strategies. The second half started with a fired up Barcelona team. Pedro and Messi both managed to launch attacks but Pedro hit the crossbar and Messi was again denied by the keeper.

Bilbao immediately launched a counter-attack and Aduriz scored his first goal of the night with a header. Luis Enrique brought in Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, but his efforts proved to be too late. About 10 minutes after his first goal, Aduriz notched up his second, in the 60^th minute.

Dani Alves put the nail in Barcelona's coffin when he conceded a penalty through a nasty tackle inside the box. Aduriz stepped up to the spot and promptly secured his hat-trick in the 66^th minute. Bilbao found themselves 4-0 up with just over 20 minutes to go.

The rest of the match was uneventful with just a handful of substitutions and a caution on San Jose. Barcelona have been sent back to school in the pouring rain at the San Mames. They have a 4-0 deficit to climb when they host Bilbao at the Camp Nou on Monday. Miracles can still happen and Barcelona will be looking to at least save face in the second leg. 

TagsSpanish Super Cup, supercopa de espana, Athlletic Bilbao, San Mames, Results, Aritz Aduriz, Hat-trick, First Leg, Pedro