Barcelona secured an emphatic win over 10-man Athletic Club in their first match at the Spotify Camp Nou since May 2023.
Robert Lewandowski scored their first goal back in their iconic home, which had been closed for extensive renovations, in the fourth minute. Poland striker Lewandowski got his side off to the perfect start when he drove his low shot in off the arm of Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon for an eighth league goal of the season.
Ferran Torres netted towards the end of both halves, each assisted by wonderful skill from Lamine Yamal, who was aged just 15 in his only previous Nou Camp appearance. Yamal’s superb pass off the outside of his foot set up Torres for a good finish.
Lopez made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, drilling a shot past Simon from near the penalty spot.
Sancet’s tackle from behind on Lopez was initially deemed a yellow card, but upgraded to red after the referee consulted with the video assistant referee (VAR).
And just before full-time, Yamal twisted and turned before sending Torres away to claim his second goal, which was originally disallowed for offside but overturned following a VAR check.
Large sections of the Nou Camp remained closed for the game, which was played in front of a 45,157 crowd.
The rebuilding work, which was originally scheduled to be finished in November 2024, will eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000.
Barcelona moved to 31 points from 13 games.
Credit: bbc.com
