Ferran Torres scored twice to move Barcelona to the top of La Liga, level with Real Madrid, who play Elche on Sunday.
Barcelona returned to their beloved Camp Nou and added to their homecoming celebrations with a resounding 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
On Saturday, the stadium, billed as Europe’s largest soccer stadium, reopened at roughly half capacity, with about 45,000 fans packed into the stadium.
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Camp Nou has been closed for more than two years for extensive renovations, and the debt-ridden club was hoping for an increase in revenue.
Robert Lewandowski set the tone from the start, taking advantage of a defensive mistake by Athletic in the fourth minute. Alex Berengar mishandled the ball as he tried to play in from the back, allowing the Polish striker to steal the ball and fire a low shot past Unai Simon at his near post.
Barcelona were in control from start to finish, putting relentless pressure on an Athletic team that was in poor form. Coach Ernesto Valverde has won just three games since September and has lost six of his last nine league games.
Athletic, in eighth place with 17 points, did little to threaten the hosts.
Barcelona scored again in first-half stoppage time. Torres latched onto Lamine Yamal’s deft long ball into space, and the Spanish forward received the pass with perfect stride, ran into the area and calmly slotted past Simon.
Three minutes into the second half, Barcelona again committed Athletic’s defensive mistake. The visiting team tried to develop from the back and handed the ball over to the alert Fermin López, who fired a bullet into the net.
Athletic’s frustration boiled over in the 53rd minute when Oyhan Sunset was given a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Lopez.
Torres added a second goal in the closing stages, capping off another fightback from 18-year-old Yamal and providing a superb assist for the second goal.
The win puts Barcelona level on points with Real Madrid and tops the table until Madrid visit Elche on Sunday.
“We played well from the start and took three more points, but the important thing today is to get back to Camp Nou,” Lewandowski said. “It’s different to play here. I think we’ll be a little stronger when we play at Camp Nou.”
Despite the cold weather, Barcelona fans sang the club’s anthem before kick-off in a celebratory atmosphere.
They had a special reason to be happy. The last time I was able to watch a match at Camp Nou was in May 2023. For more than 900 days, Barcelona played its home games at the city’s 55,000-seat Olympic Stadium. The Olympic stadium was located on a hill overlooking the city that was difficult to access.
“It’s been two years since I came (to the Olympic Stadium) and it wasn’t easy, the atmosphere was different and it was definitely not the Camp Nou,” 36-year-old fan Carlos Narváez told The Associated Press.
“This is like coming home. I’m sure the players feel that way as well as us fans. You can see how excited everyone is.”
But returning home aside, there is still significant work to be done before the new Camp Nou is completed and can accommodate 105,000 fans.
The top level of Camp Nou remains mostly a skeleton of metal and concrete beams and columns. Huge construction cranes tower over the stadium and can be seen from the stands, with some areas looking like construction sites.
Renovation works at Camp Nou began in June 2023 with the aim of restoring, modernizing and expanding the venue, which previously had a capacity of 99,000 people. The club secured €1.45 billion ($1.6 billion at the time) from multiple investors to begin the renovation project.
Barcelona had originally planned to resume matches at Camp Nou as early as November 2024, to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary. The date has been postponed a number of times, but the club has not said at this time when work on the stadium is expected to be completed. The club said it will seek permission from authorities to increase seating as work progresses.
Barcelona also received permission from UEFA this week to host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou on December 9th.
