Barcelona fullback Daniel Alves says Athletic Bilbao deserved their Super Cup triumph.

The second-leg finished 1-1 last night, with Bilbao winning the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

"Athletic competed better than we did. They deserved to win and that's why I congratulate them," said Alves.

“Perhaps we didn't get enough things right in the two games. Perhaps we didn't compete as hard we can. We paid the price for the European Super Cup match, and didn't have much time to prepare … There were all those things but there is no place for excuses."

Gerard Pique was sent off and Alves added: “Piqué was furious about the situation. The referee made a decision that did us damage, but that was no excuse either."