BARCELONA : Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scored as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at Camp Nou on Thursday to make it two wins from two in their LaLiga title defence.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute, rounding goalkeeper Unai Simon and tapping into an empty net after Pedri’s through ball split the Athletic defence.
Fermin sealed the points eight minutes from time after Aymeric Laporte failed to clear Karim Adeyemi’s low cross, allowing the substitute to control the loose ball and finish from inside the box.
Barcelona dominated possession and created the better chances, with Simon keeping Athletic in the contest through a series of saves.
The hosts made a bright start and Simon produced a fine one-handed stop to deny Lamine Yamal’s curling effort in the 18th minute. Raphinha then headed against the post before Pedri had a goal ruled out for offside.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, with Yamal striking the crossbar from the edge of the area in the 53rd minute.
New signing Rodri, who joined from Manchester City after winning the World Cup with Spain, made his Barcelona debut as a second-half substitute.
Athletic threatened to level when Oihan Sancet struck the post in the 75th minute, but Barcelona remained in control before Fermin’s late goal settled the contest.
Raphinha, deployed as a centre forward, has now scored three goals in Barcelona’s opening two league matches as the club continue to search for a specialist striker before the transfer window closes.
Barcelona have six points from two games, level with Real Madrid, Real Betis and Sevilla at the top of the standings.
