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Rodri made a composed return to action for Barcelona as the defending La Liga champions maintained their winning start with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on Thursday night.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the first half before Fermin Lopez sealed the win late in the second as Hansi Flick’s side followed their 5-0 opening-day victory over Elche with another dominant performance.
Barcelona controlled 70% of possession and registered 22 shots, 10 of them on target. Athletic managed only five attempts, none of which tested Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon kept the visitors in the game with eight saves, while Barcelona were denied twice by the woodwork. Raphinha’s header struck the post in the 23rd minute before Lamine Yamal hit the crossbar early in the second half.
Barcelona eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Pedri’s precise pass sent Raphinha into the box. The Brazilian rounded Simon before calmly finding the net for his third league goal in two matches.
Rodri came on in the 63rd minute for Marc Bernal in front of 59,326 spectators. The 30-year-old midfielder had missed Barcelona’s opening league match while recovering from injury.
It was Rodri’s first appearance at Camp Nou since April 2019, when he played for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona.
“I’m happy with the win,” Rodri said after the match. “I want to work hard to adapt to such a great team. This summer was quite stressful because of the injury and the transfer, but I’m where I wanted to be.”
Athletic came close to equalising in the 75th minute when Oihan Sancet’s effort struck the post, but Barcelona remained in control.
Fermin doubled the lead eight minutes from time after Athletic defender Aymeric Laporte failed to control a low cross from substitute Karim Adeyemi. Simon was wrong-footed by the mistake, allowing Fermin to collect the loose ball and score into an empty net.
The victory gives Barcelona six points from two matches and puts them top of La Liga on goal difference. Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Betis also have six points.
