Barcelona’s 2019-20 La Liga campaign, and their quest for a third straight domestic title, began with a shocking defeat away to Athletic Bilbao, last season’s 8th-place finishers.
But, on the bright side (for neutrals and Barca haters, of course) it happened in the most spectacular of fashions.
[ MORE: Barcelona, Bayern Munich agree deal to loan Philippe Coutinho ]
38-year-old Aritz Aduriz made his early submission for goal of the season: the following bicycle kick from 14 yards out on a high, long cross into the penalty area (goal at 0:38 mark).
Aritz Aduriz salutes @Athletic_en fans after scoring 89th minute winner against @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/5t8XSmN5EU
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) August 16, 2019
The result snapped Barca’s streak of having won their opening league fixture for 10 straight seasons.
To make matters worse, Luis Suarez suffered a muscular injury to his right leg in the first half and was subbed off in the 37th minute. Barca were without Lionel Messi due to a calf injury, but Antoine Griezmann made his competitive debut for the club after moving from Atletico Madrid for $135 million this summer.
On the bright side (for Barca), they did manage to agree a loan move for Philippe Coutinho to leave the club, presumably shedding some, or all, of his wages off their books for the rest of the season.
