Goals from Raphinha and Fermin Lopez were enough to secure a 2-0 win over Athletic Club for Barcelona, who handed Rodri his debut off the bench at Camp Nou.


2026/2027 La Liga

2-0

Match Report

Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon was one of the most impressive performers in Thursday's game, making a string of saves to keep things nervy for Hansi Flick's side even after he was beaten by Raphinha late in the first half.

But Fermin eventually got the clinching goal for the champions, who have maximum points after their first two matches in LaLiga and could hand Rodri his first start against Rayo Vallecano on Monday, after he got through almost half an hour as a substitute. 

The hosts' first two chances fell Lamine Yamal's way, but after failing to get enough curl on his first shot, he saw his second repelled by Simon at full stretch, which was a sign of things to come.

Raphinha's downward header bounced off the post and Pedri saw a driven finish from Anthony Gordon's offload chalked off due to an offside against Yamal in the build-up, but the hosts finally made their superiority count in the 37th minute. 

Pedri dropped deep before slotting a trademark through-ball between centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Yeray Alvarez, and Raphinha calmly rounded Simon to finish it off.

Another stunning Simon save thwarted Yamal from point-blank range late in the first half, and the Spain winger saw his unfortunate night continue early in the second, as another long-range shot of his deflected up into the air and onto the crossbar. 

Rodri was introduced to much fanfare in the 63rd minute, though Oihan Sancet then dealt Barca a major scare when he struck the base of the post with his 20-yard drive. 

Rodri's era begins now  pic.twitter.com/aCozPT87Wa

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 27, 2026

But Barca then got the all-important second goal eight minutes from time, with another new recruit, Karim Adeyemi, supplying a left-wing cross that Laporte diverted towards his own goal. With Simon grounded and wrong-footed, Fermin gratefully tapped into the unguarded net.

There was still time for Simon to add to his own personal highlight reel, as he showed great reflexes to get down to Adeyemi's far-post effort, but Barca were deserving victors. 

Super Simon unable to keep Barca out 

Flick could hardly have asked for a more dominant display in Barca's second game of the season, as they racked up 22 shots and 3.9 expected goals, compared to five shots and 0.22 xG for Athletic.

But with every superb stop made by Simon, it felt as though an Athletic sucker-punch became more possible, as the World Cup winner finished the game with eight saves.

However, even that remarkable goalkeeping performance could not prevent Edin Terzic from becoming the first Athletic boss to lose his first two LaLiga games in charge since Ernesto Valverde in 2003-04. The visitors just did not offer anywhere near enough in attack, with Joan Garcia not forced into a single save in the Barca net.

And Thursday's victory was a landmark one for the Blaugrana, who have now won 20 consecutive home matches in LaLiga, since a 3-2 defeat to Valencia in May 2025.

This is their longest such streak under a single coach since 1973-74, when they won 21 home games in a row under the legendary Rinus Michels.  

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

8' Eric's header in the box is wide

11' Rodri waiting his debut on the bench

19' Yamal curls a shot which is saved by Simon

24' Highlight from Barcelona vs Athletic Club

27' Yellow Card! Xavi Espart booked

29' Yamal scores but it's ruled out for offside

37' GOAL! Raphinha opens the scoring for hosts! Barcelona 1-0 Athletic Club

41' CLOSE! Simon makes a great save in one-on-one with Yamal

46' Gordon's shot following great set-up from Raphinha is over the bar

48' Yellow Card! Gorka Guruzeta booked

53' CLOSE! Yamal curls a shot inside the box which hits the crossbar

58' Match Event for Barcelona vs Athletic Club

62' Rodri comes on from the bench!

68' Yamal misses such a great chance from Pedri's pass

74' Sancet has a shot from distance which hits the post

78' Cubarsi tries a bicycle saved but he's offside anyway

82' GOAL! Fermin taps in and doubles the lead! Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club

Line-ups

Barcelona XI: Raphinha, Eric Garcia, Gordon, Pedri, Joan García, Fermín López, Yamal, Gerard Martín, Cubarsi, Bernal, Xavi Espart

Subs: Szczesny, Cancelo, Christensen, Olmo, Rodri, Kounde, Adeyemi, Balde, Brian Fariñas, Eder Aller, Hamza Abdelkarim

Athletic Club XI: Laporte, Y.Álvarez, I.Williams, Unai Simón, Gorka Guruzeta, Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams, Hugo Rincón, Johaneko Louis-Jean, Mikel Jauregizar, Peio Canales

Subs: Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Berenguer, Jesús Areso, Robert Navarro, Aitor Paredes, Álvaro Djaló, Álex Padilla, Beñat Gerenabarrena, Alejandro Rego, Adama Boiro, Maroan Sannadi, Iker Monreal