FC Barcelona made its eagerly awaited return to Camp Nou a joyous occasion, ultimately giving Athletic Bilbao no chance in a 4-0 victory. The Basques, who finished the game with ten men, were too careless with their chances overall.
Last Monday, the news spread like wildfire in Catalonia: the eagerly awaited return to Camp Nou was already scheduled for this weekend. 45,401 spectators were officially allowed in, and 45,157 were ultimately admitted. The rush for tickets, the cheapest of which cost a whopping €199, was huge.
Hansi Flick was also hugely excited, and after the 4-2 win against Celta Vigo, the former national coach fielded his best eleven. They were fired up from the start. The Catalans started at their usual high tempo. The fact that the hosts were already 1-0 up after just four minutes gave the party atmosphere in the stadium an extra boost: Eric won the ball high up the pitch, Lewandowski immediately shot from the left side of the penalty area and found the near corner – keeper Unai Simon did not look too happy about that.
For Bilbao, led by former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, Nico Williams had the first shot on goal in the 12th minute. However, the champions were much more dangerous at first: within seconds, Fermin and Dani Olmo missed chances to make it 2-0 (20th minute).
It took Bilbao half an hour to wake up, partly because Barcelona kept retreating and leaving the field to their opponents. This almost had consequences: Nico Williams headed the ball to Unai Gomez with great vision. He shot unchallenged, but straight at goalkeeper Joan Garcia (36′). Four minutes later, the fans held their breath as Barcelona failed to defend Bilbao’s attack down the left and Nico Williams shot inches wide of the left post (40′).
Ferran Torres punishes Bilbao mercilessly
If you don’t take your chances… The punishment came before the break: Yuri Berchiche played a weak ball that flew around Bilbao’s ears. Lamine Yamal set up a dream pass with the outside of his foot, and Ferran Torres made it 2-0 at halftime with the kind assistance of Unai Simon (45+3).
After the break, Barcelona had no time to lose—and sealed the deal in the 48th minute: the powerful Eric set up his second goal, this time for Fermin.
The Spaniard was back in the spotlight shortly afterwards when Bilbao’s Sancet fouled him from behind without any chance of getting the ball. The yellow card that was initially given was rescinded after video evidence, and the red card was absolutely justified (54′).
Raphinha misses dream comeback
In the last half hour, the hosts took it much easier, with an eye on the Champions League. After a strong attack via Koundé, Dani Olmo narrowly missed the fourth goal (65′). Nine minutes before the end, Raphinha was celebrated with chants on his return, and seconds later his curling shot almost found the top left corner (82′). Shortly afterwards, Lamine Yamal missed his chance to score, but he was to set up another goal: after an outstanding solo run, his through ball to Ferran Torres was perfect. Alone in front of Unai Simon, the finish to make it 4-0 was a mere formality (90′).
After the clear La Liga home win, the team travels to Chelsea on Tuesday in the Champions League, who will not make it easy for the Catalans. Bilbao has a tough task away to Slavia Prague at the same time.