Barcelona marked their long-awaited homecoming with a commanding victory after returning to their beloved stadium 909 days later.
After years of anticipation, Barcelona finally stepped back onto the Camp Nou pitch—and celebrated the moment in style. Hansi Flick’s side swept aside Athletic Bilbao to climb to the top of La Liga.
The defending champions earned a 4–0 win at home on Saturday, scoring twice in each half.
“Robert Lewandowski” put Barça ahead early before “Ferran Torres” doubled the lead. At the start of the second half, “Fermin Lopez” made it 3–0, and Torres capped off the night with his second goal. “Lamine Yamal” didn’t score on his return from injury but delivered two brilliant assists.
Bilbao played much of the second half with 10 men, though Barcelona were already three goals ahead and firmly in control by then.
With 10 wins and a draw from 13 matches, Barcelona now sit on 31 points. Real Madrid also have 31 but drop to second due to goal difference and have a game in hand.
Barcelona dominated the match with nearly 68% possession, firing 19 shots with 7 on target. Bilbao managed 13 shots but only 2 tested the keeper.
Barça extended their unbeaten run against Bilbao in La Liga to 12 matches (10 wins, 2 draws) and kept a clean sheet in seven of their last eight league meetings.
After multiple delays in renovation work, Barcelona finally returned to Camp Nou after 909 days. The stadium is undergoing a major upgrade that will increase capacity to 105,000—making it the largest in Europe. For this match, 45,000 supporters were allowed inside.
Barcelona launched two early attacks in the opening minutes, though neither troubled the keeper.
In the fourth minute, the stadium erupted as Barcelona took the lead. Lewandowski pounced on a loose ball, drove into the box, and fired toward the near post. The keeper got a hand to it, but the ball trickled into the net.
Lewandowski’s goal was his eighth in 10 La Liga matches this season. Before the international break, the 37-year-old Polish striker had scored a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4–2 win over Celta Vigo.
In the 20th minute, Fermín López had a great chance to extend the lead, but Unai Simón saved with his foot. The rebound fell to Dani Olmo, whose long-range effort went wide. Four minutes later, Torres found the net with a fine finish, but the flag went up for offside.
Bilbao tested Barça for the first time in the 36th minute, but Unai Gómez’s shot was comfortably dealt with by returning goalkeeper Joan García.
In first-half stoppage time, Barcelona doubled their lead. Yamal delivered a brilliant pass from the right, Torres darted into the box, and although Simón made the initial save, the ball slipped under him and rolled into the net.
Three minutes into the second half, Barcelona moved further ahead. An Eric García pass took a deflection off a defender and fell kindly to López, who smashed it home.
Bilbao’s midfielder Sancet saw a straight red card in the 54th minute for a reckless challenge from behind on López.
In the 80th minute, Barcelona’s keeper was finally called into action, leaping to palm Dani’s powerful header over the bar.
A minute later, Barça coach Flick brought on Raphinha for Olmo. The Brazilian forward returned after being sidelined since late September with injury.
In the final minute of regular time, Torres completed the rout. He latched onto another superb pass from Yamal, drove into the box, and slotted home Barcelona’s fourth goal.
