​The new La Liga season got underway on Friday night, as Athletic Club welcomed reigning champions Barcelona to the Estadio San Mames. And, erm, Aritz Aduriz happened.


Ernesto Valverde handed debuts to new signings Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong, who joined from Atletico Madrid and Ajax respectively. Griezmann returned to the Basque country after playing for Athletic's rivals Real Sociedad way back in his career, while de Jong was making his La Liga debut.

Athletic got off to the better start, with Iñaki Williams having two big chances for the hosts. However, he was denied by Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who pulled off two decent saves in the early stages of the game to keep the game goalless.

The game then went a bit quiet, until a shocking back pass put an unmarked Luis Suarez through on goal. With a split second to react as the ball perfectly fell to him, the Uruguayan hit the post, sparing Athletic's blushes before he went off injured.

It remained a quiet affair, with Williams the standout player for Athletic. The Spanish forward was working hard all game long, and his statistics showed just how impressive his work rate was.

Finally, the deadlock was broken right at the death with just a minute to play. Aritz Aduriz came off the bench and executed a stunning scissor kick, as he sent the Athletic fans into bedlam and secured a late and famous win for the hosts.

Athletic are away next Saturday as they take a trip to Getafe, while Barcelona have their first game at the Camp Nou as they host Real Betis the following day.