Barcelona Beats Athletic Bilbao 2-0 with Goals from Raphinha and Lopez

Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scored to help Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Thursday in La Liga. This win keeps Barcelona's perfect record this season.

The match took place at the Camp Nou, which is still being rebuilt. New player Rodri made his debut for Barcelona during the game.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute. He rounded the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the net. Lopez sealed the win with a goal in the 82nd minute. Barcelona had several chances to score more goals and hit the woodwork twice.

Barcelona's coach Hansi Flick made three changes to the team that won 5-0 against Elche last weekend. Anthony Gordon started his first match for the club. Pedri Gonzalez returned to the midfield, and Pau Cubarsi was picked for defense.

Flick kept Raphinha as a makeshift striker after Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres left the team. Barcelona has been trying to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid, but the club is not willing to negotiate.

Raphinha scored twice against Elche and found the net again at Camp Nou. His goal gave Barcelona a deserved lead at half-time. The Brazilian hit the post from a cross by Xavi Espart earlier in the first half, and Lamine Yamal's follow-up shot went wide.

Barcelona controlled the game and finally got their goal when Pedri passed the ball to Raphinha. The Brazilian rounded Unai Simon and rolled the ball home. Yamal could have doubled the lead before half-time, but a great save from Simon kept the score at 1-0.

Gordon took a shot that went just over the bar early in the second half. Yamal, still recovering from a hamstring injury, hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box. Simon saved two shots from Lopez, who had scored a brace in the first match.

Flick brought on Rodri for his debut in midfield. This left 10 Spaniards and Gordon on the pitch for Barcelona. The team kept pushing for a second goal, but Athletic Bilbao had a rare chance when Oihan Sancet hit the post.

Barcelona finally got their second goal after a mistake from Athletic defender Aymeric Laporte. He accidentally nudged a cross from Barcelona substitute Karim Adeyemi past Simon. Lopez was there to tuck it into an empty net.

Adeyemi had a chance to score a third goal late in the game. Yamal found him at the back post, but Simon made another great save to deny the German striker.