August 14, 2015, is a day FC Barcelona players and fans would not forget in a hurry. It was the day the high-flying team was, surprisingly, thrashed 4-0 by Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, on the way to denying the Catalan club of a fifth, and the only, trophy they missed last year.
So, the match at the Camp Nou was an emotionally-charged game, as the Barcelona players could not wait to demand their own pound of flesh.
And what better way to demand that pound of flesh than before more than 68,000 spectators?
The game which kicked off at 8.30 GMT came to life in the 3rd minute when Luis Suarez was brought down in the box by Athletico Bilbao’s goalkeeper, Gorka Iraizoz, who was promptly sent off for the brash challenge on the Uruguayan.
An ensuing penalty was coolly converted by five-time FIFA Ballon D’Or winner, Lionel Messi, who drove a low shot into the right side of the net, right under subsitute-goalkeeper, Iago Herrerin’s outstretched arm.
That moment was to signal the beginning of what was to become a massacre as the Azulgranas took total control of the game, with a goal each from the pair of Neymar and Ivan Rakitic, and a second-half hat trick by Suarez.
Suarez, who was on 15 goals before the game, one behind the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar, increased his tally to 18 goals, making himself the highest goalscorer in the Spanish top flight in the current campaign.