Athletic Bilbao's Late Winner Stuns Lionel Messi, Barcelona in Copa del Rey

Barcelona were sent packing from the 2020 Copa del Rey after a 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames Stadium on Thursday night.

Ibai Gomez scored a 93rd-minute winner to send the 2015 finalists through to the last four, despite the presence of Lionel Messi in the Barca starting lineup.

It means the Blaugrana have now lost twice in six games across all competitions since Quique Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in the dugout last month.

Messi did start for Barca, despite a report from ESPN FC's Moises Llorens and Samuel Marsden the prolific No. 10 has been playing through the pain of a thigh problem. Setien also had to assure fans Messi remains happy with the Blaugrana amid links to Manchester City and following an online spat with sporting director Eric Abidal, per MailOnline's Jordan Seward.

The captain appeared motivated when he wriggled his way into the box after 22 minutes. Surprisingly though, Messi passed up the chance to shoot and was dispossessed by centre-back Unai Nunez.

The Spain international was catching the eye, having already blocked an effort from Ansu Fati, who was played in by Nelson Semedo. The hosts' best early chance was Inaki Williams putting the ball over the line, only for the linesman's flag to cancel the finish.

Meanwhile, Messi spent the rest of the half doing things by himself because of a lack of support from midfield:

The Argentinian's frustration was obvious when he received a yellow card six minutes before the break after he aggressively chopped down Raul Garcia.

Frenkie de Jong wasn't supplying Messi with passes, but the latter did send the Dutchman through three minutes before the hour mark. De Jong couldn't finish, though, and ended up being booked for diving.

Setien sensed the moment was ripe for a change, so he introduced Antoine Griezmann off the bench in place of Fati. While the 17-year-old has shown undoubted potential this season, the decision to remove him was endorsed by Marsden:

Griezmann wasted Barca's best chance after he was teed up by Sergi Roberto. The Frenchman's first-time finish was turned away by a smart stop from Unai Simon, who saved with his foot.

Athletic responded to mounting pressure by swapping free-scoring target man Aritz Aduriz for Iker Muniain. Yet it was Barca who still had the better chances, with Messi going close but finding Simon in no mood to be beaten.

Williams almost won it in the 90th minute, but the winger couldn't apply the finish from a tight angle. The hosts didn't have to wait long to find the net, though, with the winner coming three minutes into injury time.

Barca's failure to score despite dominating possession underlines how much cutting edge this team is missing while centre-forward Luis Suarez is out with a knee injury. Messi is still probing, but without Suarez, Barcelona lack the crucial blunt force to complement the forward's wizardry.

On a night when bitter rivals Real Madrid were also eliminated, slipping to a 4-3 defeat at home to Real Sociedad, this defeat will be doubly painful for Setien's men.

What's Next?

Barca are away to one of Setien's former teams, Real Betis, in La Liga on Sunday. Meanwhile, Athletic are away to Real Sociedad—who upset Real Madrid in the competition on Thursday—in a Basque derby earlier the same day.