Seventy per cent of the ball, 22 shots, two woodwork hits — and Barcelona only win 2-0

Barcelona's postponed opener was a siege that took 82 minutes to become safe. They had 70% of the ball, 622 passes, 22 shots and 44 touches in the Athletic box. Athletic had five shots, none of them on target.

Raphinha scored on 37 minutes. Fermín López — who scored twice at Elche four days earlier — got the second on 82.

Everything except goals

Between those two moments, Barcelona hit the woodwork twice, won 12 corners, created five big chances and put ten shots on target. Athletic's goalkeeper made eight saves. Barcelona's made none — he had nothing to make one against.

The expected goals finished 3.91 to 0.25, and the xG on target of 3.69 to zero is the cleanest possible summary: Athletic never worked the goalkeeper once. They did hit the woodwork themselves, which is as close as a side with 30% possession and 184 accurate passes got.

Raphinha's opener was the first of a run

Raphinha's 37th-minute goal at the Camp Nou turned out to be the start of something bigger. He scored again in the next round at Elche — from the penalty spot, then a second in the second half — added a brace when Rayo Vallecano visited on matchday 3, and was on the scoresheet again in the 5-0 win at Valencia on matchday 4. Four matchdays, six goals, not a single blank.

Fermín López followed the same pattern

Fermín López's 82nd-minute goal against Athletic Club was not a one-off either. He scored twice at Elche a few days later, and again at Valencia on matchday 4, meaning he has found the net in three of Barcelona's four league matches this season — only the Rayo Vallecano game passed without his name on the scoresheet.

Match facts

• 37' — Raphinha (Barcelona)
• 82' — Fermín López (Barcelona)

Four matchdays, four wins

Barcelona's opening-weekend win over Athletic Club was the first of four straight in LaLiga: 5-0 at Elche, 5-2 at home to Rayo Vallecano, and another 5-0 away at Valencia. That run has them top of the table after matchday 4 with 12 points from four wins, 17 goals scored and only two conceded — a goal difference of +15, the best in the division and a two-point cushion over nearest challengers Alavés.

The scoring load kept getting shared around beyond Raphinha and Fermín López. Karim Adeyemi got on the scoresheet at Elche, Lamine Yamal scored twice against Rayo Vallecano and twice more at Valencia, and Pedri also found the net at the Mestalla — five different players among Barcelona's goals across the four matches that followed the win over Athletic Club.

A harder few weeks for Athletic

The Camp Nou defeat opened a rougher month for Athletic Club. They lost 1-3 at home to Sevilla in matchday 2 — reduced to ten men inside 11 minutes by a Yuri Berchiche red card — before turning it around with back-to-back wins: 2-0 at Celta Vigo, then 3-0 at home to Atlético Madrid, who arrived unbeaten. Before the win at Celta, Athletic had sat 19th without a point; two wins from their last two matches have lifted them clear of the relegation zone and up to 9th on 6 points, with 6 goals for and 5 against.

What's next

Both sides return to league action after the international break, Barcelona looking to stay perfect and Athletic aiming to build on back-to-back wins.