Camp Nou is still under renovation, but Barcelona finally stepped onto their historic turf again—this time in front of 45,000 permitted fans, even though the full capacity is 105,000. After 909 days away, Barça marked their homecoming with a dominant 4–0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, climbing above Real Madrid to take the top spot in La Liga.
Barcelona looked completely at ease on their familiar field. Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, and Fermín López each scored, while young star Lamine Yamal delivered two brilliant assists. Barça controlled the game with 68% possession, firing 19 shots and scoring four times, while Bilbao managed only two shots on target from 13 attempts.
“We felt the energy of Camp Nou again—this win means a lot,” a team official shared after the match.
Bilbao’s night got worse when Ouihan Sánchez received a red card in the 54th minute, leaving them down to 10 men. Lewandowski had already opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a precise finish inside the box—his eighth goal in ten La Liga matches this season.
Dominance Continues as Barçelona Extend Unbeaten Run
Fifteen minutes later, López almost doubled the lead, but goalkeeper Unai Simón denied him. Dani Olmo’s follow-up also missed the mark. Bilbao struggled to trouble Barça keeper Juan García.
Just before halftime, Torres added Barcelona’s second, sending the ball under Simón after receiving a smart pass from Yamal.
López made it 3–0 early in the second half with a powerful strike. Moments later, Sánchez was shown a straight red for fouling López, putting Bilbao under even more pressure.
“The team is growing with confidence, and today’s performance showed that,” said Barça’s coaching staff in a post-match reaction.
Raphinha, returning from injury after being sidelined since September, came on late in the game. In the 90th minute, Torres scored again—Barça’s fourth—after Yamal threaded another excellent pass into the box.
With this win, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona remain unbeaten in their last 12 matches against Bilbao, winning ten of them. They now have 31 points from 13 matches, sitting at the top of the standings. Real Madrid, who have played one match fewer, trail only by goal difference.
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