Barcelona continued their winning start to the La Liga season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez once again finding the net for the defending champions.
The Catalan giants controlled much of the match at the partially rebuilt Camp Nou, securing their second win in as many league games while giving new signing Rodri his Barcelona debut.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute after being played through by Pedri Gonzalez. The Brazilian showed his composure to round goalkeeper Unai Simon before calmly rolling the ball into the empty net.
Lopez then sealed the victory eight minutes from full-time, finishing from close range after Athletic defender Aymeric Laporte inadvertently diverted Karim Adeyemi’s cross into his own path.
Barcelona could have won by a wider margin, hitting the woodwork twice and creating several other clear chances throughout the match.
Raphinha continues to deliver
With Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres no longer at the club, Barcelona have been searching for solutions in attack, and coach Hansi Flick has continued to deploy Raphinha as a makeshift centre-forward.
The move is already producing results.
After scoring twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Elche last weekend, Raphinha found the net again against Athletic, underlining his importance to Flick’s plans.
“It doesn’t matter which position Rapha plays, as a captain he’s shown total commitment to this team, to this club,” Flick said.
“You can see the supporters are connected with him and it’s really good.”
Raphinha had earlier come close to scoring when he headed against the post, while Lamine Yamal’s follow-up was deflected wide.
Rodri makes Barcelona debut
The match also marked Rodri’s first appearance for Barcelona following his move to the club.
The former Manchester City midfielder was introduced in the second half as Flick looked to give him his first competitive minutes for his new side.
Rodri admitted he still needs time to adapt but was pleased to begin his Barcelona career with a victory.
“Very happy to play my first game, happy with the victory, we’ve got two from two,” Rodri said.
“It’s important to keep building up rhythm and adapting to this great team. My first minutes and I had some good feelings.”
Yamal still searching for his best form
Although Barcelona dominated possession and created numerous opportunities, Yamal was unable to find the net.
The teenage forward is still working his way back to his best following a hamstring injury and missed a good opportunity before the break when Simon produced an excellent save.
Yamal later struck the crossbar with a long-range effort, but his overall performance was an improvement compared with his struggles against Elche.
Rodri believes it is only a matter of time before the youngster starts scoring regularly again.
“Maybe Lamine came from a moment where he was a bit down and today we tried to help him get back up and saw his best version, even though he didn’t score,” Rodri said.
“The goals will come because the talent is there.”
Barcelona eventually put the result beyond doubt when Laporte’s mistake allowed Lopez to finish into an empty net.
Athletic threatened briefly through Oihan Sancet, who struck the post, but Barcelona remained firmly in control for most of the contest.
Athletic suffer second straight defeat
The result leaves Athletic Bilbao with two defeats from their opening two league matches under new coach Edin Terzic.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager remains confident his side can turn their fortunes around despite the difficult start.
“I’m not a constant winner, I’m a constant trier,” Terzic said.
“I’m full of belief and trust when I see how we worked in these two games and on the training ground. Sooner or later we’ll get what we deserve and turn results in our favour.”
