Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club: Five key takeaways from LaLiga 2026-27 match

The Blaugrana sealed a solid victory at home.

Barcelona hosted Athletic Club at Camp Nou for a Matchday 1 fixture of the LaLiga 2026-27 season on Thursday night. Goals in either half from Raphinha and Fermin Lopez sealed a solid 2-0 win for the Blaugrana.

The hosts started the match strongly, with Lamine Yamal having a host of early chances. Pedri had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside, but Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute, with Pedri turning provider.

The Blaugrana went into the break with a one-goal advantage. They started the second half on the front foot, but several good saves from Unai Simon kept Athletic Club in the contest. Barca continued to push hard for a second goal to seal the victory.

The second goal came in the 82nd minute, with Karim Adeyemi’s cross being turned in by Fermin Lopez after an error at the back from Aymeric Laporte. This strike sealed the victory for the hosts, who maintained their 100% start to their title defence.

Also Read: Barcelona’s Champions League 2026-27 fixtures REVEALED

Important things we learned from Barcelona vs Athletic Club:

1. Days of tiki-taka gone?

Hansi Flick signalled a change in tactics in Barcelona’s previous match against Elche, where the Catalan side had a record-low 54.4% possession. Today’s figure was much higher, standing at 72%. Despite signing Rodri, the Blaugrana are looking to play more direct football, signalling a shift away from their tiki-taka tactics of “possession at all costs” popularised under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

2. VAR rescues Athletic Club

The Basque side were certainly on the back foot in the first half, and Barcelona thought they scored just before the half-hour mark. Yamal got to the end of a long ball before the ball fell to Gordon. The English winger put a low cross into the box that was slammed home by Pedri. However, VAR adjudged Yamal to be offside in the build-up, ruling out the goal and giving Athletic Club a huge respite.

3. A solution to Barca’s striker problem?

Following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, Barcelona have no out-and-out strikers in the squad. Flick was forced to start Raphinha in the No. 9 role, and the stand-in skipper did not disappoint. His early header struck the post, and the Brazilian broke the deadlock with a fine finish in the first half. If the Blaugrana fail to bring in a striker before the summer transfer window closes, Raphinha can be a capable striker for the team this season.

4. Yamal not at his best

Despite a strong performance from the hosts, one player who did not look up to the pace was Lamine Yamal. The youngster had two golden chances inside the opening 20 minutes. The first curled away from the top-left corner of Simon’s goal, while the second was saved by the Spanish goalkeeper. He had another golden chance in the first half to double Barca’s lead, but his shot brought out a stunning save from Simon. The lack of pre-season was quite evident in Yamal’s play tonight.

5. Unai Simon becomes the hero

Despite Athletic Club coming away empty-handed from Catalonia, Unai Simon was the hero for the visitors. The goalkeeper made some stunning saves to deny Yamal in the early stages. The goalkeeper then made another stunning save to prevent Fermin Lopez’s effort from going into the back of the net in the 62nd minute. Only a mistake from Laporte led to the goalkeeper being beaten for the second time.

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