Athletic Bilbao lays waste to Barcelona in 1st leg of Supercopa de Espana

Athletic Bilbao crushed a lifeless Barcelona side 4-0 in the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana in front of a jubilant home crowd at San Mames Stadium on Friday.

The highlight of the match was also its turning point.

Bilbao defensive midfielder Mikel San Jose got on the end of a Marc-Andre Ter Stegen headed clearance, cradled the ball with his right foot a few steps inside of the halfway line and fired a brilliant 13th-minute strike beyond the German 'keeper's grasp.

Bilbao controlled the momentum from there, finishing the first half with a 1-0 advantage, but it was 15 second-half minutes of brilliance from Aritz Aduriz that cemented the result.

First, winger Sabin Merino marauded down the left flank in the 53rd minute leaving Barcelona's world-class right-back Dani Alves in his dust only to place a perfect cross onto the head of Aduriz, who deposited a firmly-struck ball beyond the outstretched reach of Barcelona's second-choice shot-stopper.

Then, nine minutes later, following some dismal man-marking and attempts at a clearance in the Barcelona box, Aduriz turned on a fortuitously-placed ball. Ter Stegen never had a chance.

Not five minutes had passed since Aduriz's second goal - as the home crowd reveled in the hysteria of the unbelievable - when Alves, who looked off the pace the entire match, daftly fouled Bilbao's Xabier Etxeitia in the box.

Aduriz stepped up and calmly placed a clinical penalty beyond Ter Stegen's grasp.

The first half was marked by an inspired effort from the Basque side, as Bilbao seemed to be first to every ball, controlling play both on the flanks and in central positions.

Lionel Messi barely touched the ball, as he and fellow attackers Pedro and Luis Suarez failed to get the service from the likes of Rafinha and Sergi Roberto.

Barcelona gaffer Luis Enrique took a chance giving Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, and Thomas Vermaelen a chance, and the disparity between them and those who usually fill out Barca's first-choice team sheet was painfully evident for the defending La Liga champs.

The Supercopa, which pits last year's La Liga winner against the Copa Del Rey champs - in this instance, the Copa runners-up Bilbao, as Barca won both trophies - is a precursor to the 2015-16 La Liga campaign which kicks off in a week's time.

The Catalans were always the favourite to hoist this year's trophy, and Bilbao's dominance over arguably the world's most decorated club caught many off guard.

The Catalans have now surrendered eight goals in the span of a few days, as Tuesday's 5-4 UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla highlighted some clear defensive inefficiencies.

Any Barcelona supporter will note that it's only the preseason, and what better time to work out the kinks than the present? As true as this may be, questions surround the defensive acuity of the defending La Liga and Champions League winners a week away from the beginning of the 2015-16 La Liga campaign.

This notwithstanding, it's Athletic Bilbao's day and this victory was as much about its dominance as it was Barcelona's lifeless effort.