Athletic Bilbao 2 Barcelona 1: Lionel Messi nets free-kick but Catalans toil after winter break
Aduriz and Inaki Williams on target as nine-man Bilbao take 2-1 lead to Nou Camp in Copa del Rey last 16
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ATHLETIC BILBAO beat sub-par Barcelona as the Catalans toiled following their winter break.
The hosts raced into a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Aduriz and Inaki Williams.
Lionel Messi pulled one back in the second half but Barca could not pull level despite Athletic being reduced to nine men.
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Athletic took a commanding lead with a three-minute double against the run of play.
First Aduriz, 35, nodded home from close range after 25 minutes before Inaki Williams smashed home after a rapid counter attack.
The hosts held their lead until the break but Barca began to step up the pressure and pulled one back when Gorka Iraizoz could only tip Messi's free-kick in off the underside of the bar.
Raul Garcia chopped down Neymar with 15 minutes to play and was sent packing to up the pressure on his side.
Barca launched relentless attacks on Iraizoz 's goal and Bilbao's task got even tougher when Ander Iturraspe joined Garcia in the dressing room for a similar offence.
The result means Barca head into the second leg needing to overturn a slender deficit to make the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.