Barcelona full-back Dani Alves rolled back the years with a sublime overhead-kick assist in last night's Copa del Rey clash against Athletic Bilbao.
The Catalan side went 1-0 down inside two minutes after Iker Muniain opened the scoring with a looping finish.
Barca's new signing Ferran Torres, who joined the club from Manchester City this month for a reported €55 million plus €10 million in add-ons, soon opened his account for Xavi's side with another cracking strike to level the scores.
Bilbao thought they'd grabbed the winner in normal time when Inigo Martinez tapped in from close range but after a superb piece of improvisation from Dani Alves, teenager Pedri equalised in the 93rd minute.
Check out this assist from Alves, though. Wonderful stuff.
It was a moment of brilliance from Alves but it still wasn't enough for Barca to seal a place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Iker Muniain netted his second goal of the game from the penalty spot to hand Bilbao a historic victory and dump the La Liga strugglers out.
Xavi was brutally honest in his post-match interview. “We were beaten by intensity, we have to win the duels, the second plays,” he said.
“Athletic was excellent, well organized. I think Athletic played a great match. It was difficult for us to make progress. We tried. They defended with great intensity. They were superior in the duels. I saw a very strong Athletic. We fought until the end.
“These have been hard days, but there is nothing left to do but work and believe in the project.
"We have to recover from the defeat in the Super Cup and this one. But we have to think about La Liga and the Europa League.”
Thoughts on Barca's performance in the Copa del Rey? And what about that assist from Alves?
Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Pedri, Dani Alves, Brazil
Jack Kenmare