Barcelona marks Camp Nou return with Athletic rout
Ferran Torres struck twice from two sublim Lamine Yamal assists as Barcelona marked its long-awaited return to Camp Nou with an emphatic 4-0 win over Athletic Club to move back to the top of LaLiga.
This was Barcelona's first match at Camp Nou in 909 days, as the partially renovated stadium welcomed more than 45,000 fans back after two and a half years of redevelopment.
The ground's final capacity will be 105,000, but the reduced crowd witnessed a dominant display by the home side in an emotional homecoming.
Robert Lewandowski set the tone early, capitalising on an error in Athletic's defence in the fourth minute.
Alex Berenger mishandled the ball while attempting to play out from the back, allowing the Poland striker to seize possession and fire a low effort past Unai Simon at the near post.
Barcelona struck again in first-half stoppage-time. Lamine Yamal's expertly delivered long ball into space found Torres and the Spanish forward took the pass perfectly in his stride, raced into the area and calmly slotted past Simon.
Three minutes into the second half, Barcelona punished another defensive lapse by Athletic.
Attempting to play out from the back, the visitors gifted possession to the alert Fermin Lopez, who rifled a bullet strike into the net.
Athletic's frustrations boiled over when Oihan Sancet was sent off with a straight red card in the 53rd minute after a reckless challenge on Lopez.
In the closing stages, Torres added his second, rounding off another counter-attack set up by the 18-year-old Yamal, who provided a second sublime assist.
"Coming back to the Camp Nou is a special day," Lewandowski said after the match.
"We're very happy and pleased. For returning with a win. We played very well. Two goals in each half ... To be honest, it's different when we play here. We gain in confidence.
"I'm 37 years old, but it was also special for me to play here again. Even better to score a goal."
