Barcelona, Aug 18 (IANS): His team may have conceded the Spanish Super Cup to Athletic Bilbao, but FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta feels that the Catalans were superior to their opponents in their second leg clash at the Nou Camp.

The La Liga champions, who were thrashed 0-4 in the first leg, battled to a 1-1 draw in front of their home crowd as Bilbao ran away with a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Argentine super star Lionel Messi had pulled one back for Barcelona in the first half. But the second half expulsion of central defender Gerard Pique put paid to their chances as Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz struck soon after.

"In the first leg we made a lot of errors, which put the tie out of our hands. Today we were infinitely superior, but it's two-legs, not one," Iniesta told reporters after the match on Monday.

“It’s two games and in the first match the balance tipped in Athletic’s favour in a big way. Maybe we could have scored another goal in the first half [on Monday], but we create a lot," the Barcelona captain added.

The Super Cup defeat ended Barcelona's dream of winning six titles in a year, but Iniesta insisted that the reigning European champions will continue to be relentless in their hunt for trophies.

"Very few teams have won six, three of four titles [in a calendar year]; in December we will go for our fifth," the 31-year-old Spanish international said.

"We have nothing to regret, though, and the team will continue to move forward."