Lionel Messi was shown a straight red card on Sunday night as Barcelona lost 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final.Remarkably, this was the legendary Argentine forward’s first red card of his entire club career.Messi was sent off in the final moments of stoppage time for an off-the-ball incident involving Asier Villalibre.Villalibre was the player who sent the match to extra-time with a dramatic finish from close-range in the 90th minute.Barcelona were 2-1 up at that point, thanks to an Antoine Griezmann brace, but Villalibre’s equaliser forced extra-time.Inaki Williams then scored a fabulous winning goal early in stoppage time, but the game will be best remembered for the first red card Messi has ever received while playing for Barça.
As Barcelona attacked in search of a third goal in the 120th minute, Messi caught Villalibre with a nasty right hook in the back of the head, sending his opponent to the ground.The referee checked the pitch-side monitor and had no option but to send Messi off.Watch the incident here…
That is so uncharacteristic for Messi. You don’t expect that type of conduct from such an experienced player.