European champions Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 in the first leg of the Spanish Supercup on Sunday with second-half goals by Xavi and reserve forward Pedro Rodriguez.

Athletic striker Oscar de Marcos opened the scoring in the 44th minute as he evaded both Gerard Pique and Daniel Alves before seeing his shot clip off Carles Puyol and fly over Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes into the corner of the net.