Barcelona claimed their second consecutive La Liga victory on Thursday, beating Athletic Club 2-0 at the Camp Nou in their first home match of the season, with Brazilian forward Raphinha continuing his impressive early-season form and new signing Rodri making his debut off the bench.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute, coolly rounding Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simón after a precise through ball from Pedri split the visiting defence. The goal was Raphinha's third in just two league matches, a remarkable return for a player being deployed as a makeshift centre forward while Barcelona continue to search for a specialist striker before the transfer window closes. Fermín López sealed the win eight minutes from time, capitalising on a costly defensive error by Aymeric Laporte, who failed to clear Karim Adeyemi's low cross and allowed the midfielder to score from close range.
Manager Hansi Flick's side were dominant throughout, though Athletic — the Basque club from Bilbao in northern Spain — were kept in the game by a commanding performance from Simón, who made several important saves including a fine one-handed stop to deny Lamine Yamal in the 18th minute. Yamal, the 19-year-old World Cup winner, struck the crossbar with a powerful effort in the 53rd minute, and Athletic came close to levelling when Oihan Sancet struck the post from outside the box in the 75th minute.
One of the evening's most anticipated moments came in the 62nd minute when Rodri, the Spanish midfielder who joined Barcelona from Manchester City after helping Spain win the World Cup, came off the bench to make his debut for the club. Frenkie de Jong, the Dutch midfielder, did not feature due to injury.
The result leaves Barcelona level on six points with Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Betis after two rounds, though Barcelona lead on goal difference with seven goals scored and none conceded. The strong start signals genuine title ambitions from Flick's side, whose fluid attacking play and defensive solidity have made them an early benchmark in this season's La Liga.