Brilliant Barcelona clinched the first silverware of the Pep Guardiola era tonight after fighting back from an early deficit to crush Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at the Mestalla.

Gaizka Toquero had given Athletic brief hope of ending their 25-year trophy barren spell when he gave the Basque side an early lead, but Barca stormed back with goals from Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Xavi to lift the cup.

The victory means Barca have now completed step one of a possible trophy treble this season, and they could make it two from two this weekend as they need just one more point to win the Primera Division title.

Guardiola's men are also in the final of the Champions League, where they play Manchester United later this month.

In the battle between the two most successful teams in Copa del Rey history - Barca had won 24 compared to 23 for Athletic going into this match - it was Athletic who drew first blood as they sought their first major trophy since winning the Copa del Rey final in 1984.

Athletic won that game - which was probably best remembered for the violent confrontations between the two sets of players following the final whistle - 1-0 and Bilbao fans must have been dreaming of a similar scoreline as their side enjoyed a flying start.

Toquero gave Jose Pinto his first test in the fifth minute with a diving header before Fran Yeste brought a flying stop out of the stand-in Barca goalkeeper four minutes later.

Barca could not hold out though, and from the resulting corner, Toquero climbed between Xavi and Seydou Keita at the far post to power home a header that sent the Athletic fans wild.

That joy lasted just 21 minutes though before Barca drew level with a brilliant equaliser from Toure.

There appeared to be little danger as the powerhouse midfielder picked the ball up near the halfway line, but he showed tremendous skill and strength to burst between two opponents, hold off a third and then drill a low 25-yard shot inside Gorka Iraizoz's near post.

That was a huge setback for Athletic and a massive boost for a Barca side who had been struggling to stamp their authority on the game.

Underdogs Athletic refused to buckle after that goal though, and they went into the half-time break level at 1-1 after limiting Barca to just a couple of half-chances.

It was a different story after the break though as Barca blitzed Athletic with a stunning 20-minute spell of attacking football that yielded four goals and ended the cup final as a contest.

Messi had already twice gone close before netting the goal that put Barca 2-1 up in the 54th minute.

Samuel Eto'o might have scored himself, but when his low shot was parried back out by Iraizoz, Messi picked up the loose ball before drilling a low shot through a wall of Athletic defenders and into the net.

Eto'o missed a decent chance to make it 3-1 60 seconds later when he lobbed over from the edge of the box, but Bojan was not so profligate in the 58th minute.

Picking up a pinpoint pass from Messi, Bojan ignored the unmarked Eto'o in the middle to curl a clinical shot in off the inside of the far post as rampant Barca extended their lead.

Barca were building up a formidable head of steam by that point, but the match was stopped following an unsavoury incident around the hour mark when Barca full-back Dani Alves was struck by an object from the crowd whilst taking a throw-in.

Alves needed several minutes' attention but he was able to continue while television pictures showed police leading a man - presumably the person responsible - out from amongst the Athletic supporters.

Back on the field and it was still all Barca, and the Catalan side made it 4-1 in the 63rd minute with another top-class goal as Xavi curled a 25-yard free-kick in off the woodwork.

That was game, set and match for Barca and although both sides pushed forward in search of further goals, the scoreline remained as it was and Guardiola's side were able to celebrate their first piece of silverware since 2006.