Raphinha and Fermin Lopez fire Barcelona to victory over Athletic Club

Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Club in their rearranged opening-round fixture, with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring the goals at Camp Nou.

The win was Barcelona’s second in the league this season and took them to six points, level with Real Madrid but ahead on goal difference. It also marked a second successive clean sheet for Hansi Flick’s side.

Flick became only the second manager in Barcelona’s history to win his first 15 La Liga matches at Camp Nou. The only previous coach to achieve the feat was Helenio Herrera, who reached the same mark in 1959.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 38th minute after receiving an excellent pass from Pedri. The forward rounded Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon before calmly placing the ball into the net.

Barcelona had been close to taking the lead earlier in the match. Lamine Yamal fired a powerful effort narrowly wide in the 12th minute, while Raphinha headed Xavi Espart’s accurate cross against the post in the 24th minute. Yamal followed up, but Simon kept out his attempt.

Pedri appeared to have put Barcelona ahead in the 29th minute, but the goal was disallowed because Yamal was in an offside position.

Yamal then missed a clear opportunity to double the advantage three minutes before half-time after finding himself one-on-one with Simon.

Athletic Club continued to threaten after the interval, but Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was not required to make the decisive intervention as the visitors were unable to find an equaliser. Fermin tested Simon with a fierce shot in the 62nd minute, which the goalkeeper saved.

Anthony Gordon later missed the chance to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute when he failed to take advantage of a pass from Yamal.

Athletic came close to levelling three minutes later when Oihan Sancet struck a powerful effort against the post, preserving Barcelona’s lead.

The hosts finally secured the points in the 82nd minute. After a cross from substitute Karim Adeyemi, Fermin Lopez capitalised on a mistake by an Athletic defender and found the net for Barcelona’s second goal.

Fermin Lopez and Raphinha have now scored their third goals for Barcelona in two La Liga matches this season.

Flick made several changes to his starting line-up, handing Fermin a place from the start and also including Anthony Gordon and Pau Cubarsi. Karim Adeyemi and Andreas Christensen began on the substitutes’ bench, while Egypt international Hamza Abdelkarim remained among the replacements for a second consecutive match.

Barcelona’s victory keeps them at the summit on six points after two matches, with Real Madrid matching their total but trailing on goal difference.