Missing Lionel Messi, La Liga champion Barcelona stumbled to a 1-0 defeat by Athletic Bilbao on Friday as the Spanish league season got underway in thrilling fashion.

Champions Barcelona suffer defeat on the opening day of the La Liga season after a sublime winner by Aritz Aduriz hands Athletic Bilbao victory.

La Liga gets under way on Friday with questions facing all the major contenders. BBC Sport analyses what could be one of the most interesting seasons in years.

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde hailed "extraordinary" Lionel Messi after the Argentina playmaker netted a hat-trick in the 5-0 thrashing of Catalan rivals Espanyol at the Nou Camp.

He was linked with Manchester United, but that was never realistic. Now, he is very close to moving to France. Monaco have agreed a €40m deal to sign Wissam Ben Yedder from Sevilla. According to L'Equipe, the 29-year-old striker is close to swapping La Liga for Ligue 1, as Monaco are trying to drastically improve on ...]