Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona: 2016 Copa Del Rey Quarter-Final, Leg 1 Score

Barcelona claimed the initiative in their Copa del Rey quarter-final tie with Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday after a 2-1 victory at the San Mames in the first leg.

Munir El Haddadi and Neymar gave the visitors a comfortable lead in the first half, but Aritz Aduriz's late strike means Athletic head into next week's second leg with just a one-goal deficit to make up.

AS relayed the team news for both sides before kick-off:

The hosts made a bright start, but it was Neymar who forced the first save, with Iago Herrerin tipping away the Brazilian's effort after 15 minutes.

Barca then put the ball in the back of the net a few minutes later. Munir turned home Ivan Rakitic's perfect low cross after good work from Arda Turan.

Opta provided an impression of the immaculate build-up:

Some calamitous Athletic defending then gifted Neymar the second goal in the 24th minute.

Herrerin came out fast to attempt to clear but bungled his tackle on the 23-year-old, leaving the goalmouth open and his hapless defenders diving in despairingly as Neymar rolled home a composed finish.

The second half was a much tighter affair, Herrerin redeeming himself somewhat with a save from Munir's effort.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen was then called into action from Sabin Merino's header, and the German impressively kept the score at 2-0 as the clock ticked on.

However, there was to be a final twist as Dani Alves got caught in possession dribbling out from the back. He gifted the ball back to Athletic, and Aduriz turned home a cut-back to half the deficit with a minute remaining.  

Post-Match Reaction

Barca manager Luis Enrique expressed his satisfaction with the result after the clash despite the late blow of conceding a goal, per the club's Twitter feed:

Meanwhile, Rakitic stressed the need for a good performance in the return leg:

The two sides will meet again at the Camp Nou on Jan. 27 as both look to book their place in the semi-finals.