Barcelona continued their perfect start to the La Liga season with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Thursday evening, celebrating their first official match at Spotify Camp Nou this season.
The postponed Matchday 1 fixture—rescheduled following the participation of several players from both teams in the latter stages of the World Cup—saw Barcelona enter high on confidence after their five-goal opening win against Elche. Hansi Flick once again deployed Raphinha as a false nine in the absence of a natural striker.
The hosts created the clearer chances early on, with Raphinha heading against the post before Pedri had a goal disallowed for a Lamine Yamal offside. The duo quickly made amends in the 37th minute when Pedri played a defense-splitting pass for Raphinha, who rounded goalkeeper Unai Simón to slot into an empty net.
Barcelona pressed to double their lead, but Unai Simón denied Lamine Yamal twice in dangerous situations, while the crossbar thwarted the youngster’s curling left-footed strike following a brilliant solo run, keeping Athletic in the contest despite Catalan dominance.
The most anticipated moment at Camp Nou arrived in the 63rd minute when Rodri replaced Raphinha to a resounding ovation from the home crowd, marking his official debut for Barcelona after missing the Elche fixture due to a lack of match fitness following a late return to pre-season training.
Oihan Sancet nearly threatened Barcelona’s lead with a powerful shot off the post, but Fermín López put the game to rest in the 81st minute, capitalizing on an Aymeric Laporte error to go one-on-one with Unai Simón and finish calmly. Simón continued his strong performance late on, denying substitute Karim Adeyemi from making it three.
With two wins, seven goals scored, and zero conceded in their opening two matches, Barcelona moves to six points. They host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Monday, August 31, before embarking on back-to-back away trips against Valencia and Levante.
