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Barcelona could not have scripted a more poetic homecoming. After 909 days of exile, the Catalans returned to their beloved Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night and marked the occasion with a resounding 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao — a win that briefly lifted them to the summit of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid. The night belonged to history, emotion, and a team rediscovering its rhythm. Robert Lewandowski, wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in what was his 160th appearance for the club, carved his name into Camp Nou folklore by scoring the first goal at the renovated stadium. For Ferran Torres, this new era started with a flourish. The forward struck twice, both assisted by Yamal, who justified every bit of the hype surrounding him with a dazzling display of vision and composure. And as if to reaffirm Barcelona’s renewed strength, goalkeeper Joan García, back from injury, delivered a commanding performance to keep Bilbao at bay. Barca needed less than five minutes to trigger a new chapter in their storied home. Yamal drove forward with characteristic fearlessness before slicing open Bilbao’s defence with a brilliant through-ball. A quick series of passes followed, and Lewandowski, gliding into space, unleashed a powerful strike into the net to ignite the stadium. But the visitors refused to be mere spectators. Bilbao answered instantly with waves of attack, dominating nearly ten minutes and testing Barcelona’s defensive structure. In the 20th minute, Fermín’s low shot forced Unai Simón into action, and Dani Olmo sent the rebound narrowly wide. Four minutes later, Ferran Torres found the net but was denied by the offside flag. Bilbao’s biggest chance of the half arrived in the 36th minute when Unai Gómez failed to beat Joan García from close range. Moments later, Gómez’s long-range effort sailed over the bar, and in the 41st minute Nico Williams miscued his attempt from just outside the six-yard box. Then, just before the interval, Barcelona struck again. A counterattack led by Yamal set Ferran free, and although Simón got a hand to it, the ball rolled in to make it 2-0 at halftime. The second half began with Barcelona pouncing on a defensive error, allowing Fermín to coolly slot home their third goal of the night. Bilbao’s hopes unraveled further in the 54th minute when Oihan Sancet saw red for a reckless challenge on Fermín. Initially shown a yellow, the card turned red after VAR intervention. With a man advantage, Barcelona dominated possession and tempo, while Bilbao retreated into damage-control mode. Olmo came within inches of scoring in the 65th minute, but it was Ferran who completed the rout in stoppage time. Yamal once again orchestrated the move, and after a brief offside scare, VAR confirmed the goal. The victory took Barcelona to 31 points from 13 matches — level with Real Madrid but temporarily ahead on goal difference. Madrid, however, can reclaim the lead with at least a draw in their 13th-round fixture against Elche on Sunday, while a win would take them three points clear. Barcelona now shift their focus to Europe, travelling to London to face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday. They will return home next Saturday for a La Liga fixture with Deportivo Alavés.  

Barcelona returned to winning ways after a frustrating 2-1 defeat in El Clásico last week, securing a 3-1 victory over Elche on Sunday. The win brought Barcelona within five points of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the table. The Catalans went ahead with two quick goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres in the 9th and 12th minutes respectively. Rafa Mir pulled one back for Elche three minutes before halftime, before Marcus Rashford sealed the victory for the Blaugrana in the 61st minute. Injury-plagued Barcelona had struggled to show character at the Santiago Bernabéu last week, but this time Hansi Flick’s men responded in style. Their intent to return to form was evident from the opening whistle, as they dominated the early stages. In the ninth minute, Alejandro Balde intercepted a misplaced pass in midfield and sent a precise through ball into the penalty area. Yamal controlled it between two defenders and fired a powerful shot past the goalkeeper to give Barcelona the lead. Barely two minutes later, Barcelona doubled their advantage. From the left flank, Fermín López’s low cross found unmarked Ferran Torres inside the six-yard box, and the winger calmly slotted home with his right foot. It was Ferran’s 50th goal wearing the Barca shirt. López, who had scored Barcelona’s only goal against Real Madrid the previous week, almost found the net again in the 33rd minute with a curling long-range effort that was superbly pushed away by the Elche goalkeeper. After spending most of the first half defending, Elche pulled one back in the 42nd minute with their first meaningful attack. Álvaro Núñez led a counter-attack and set up Rafa Mir, who drove into the box unchallenged and finished clinically into the far corner.

Barcelona extended their unbeaten start to the 2025/26 La Liga season with a commanding 3-0 victory over Getafe at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday. Despite the frustration of playing in front of a reduced-capacity crowd, Hansi Flick’s men responded in style, thanks to a brace from Ferran Torres and a superb strike from Dani Olmo. Torres opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a first-time finish from Olmo’s clever back-heel. He doubled the lead in the 34th minute with a fierce long-range strike. The Spanish forward came close to completing his hat-trick before halftime, but his effort rattled the crossbar. Olmo sealed the win in the 62nd minute, calmly slotting home after Marcus Rashford’s cut-back. Rashford nearly got on the scoresheet himself during stoppage time, only to be denied by a fine save from the Getafe goalkeeper. Barcelona dominated possession with 71 percent, attempting 16 shots—seven on target—while limiting Getafe to just three attempts, including two on goal. Pellegrini's strike gives Roma the points over 9-man Lazio in fiery derby The result gave Barcelona back-to-back league wins, in which they have scored nine goals without conceding. With 13 points from four wins and a draw, the Catalan giants now sit second in the standings, two points behind leaders Real Madrid (15 points). Getafe, who had won three of their first four matches, slipped to eighth place after the defeat.

Luis Enrique is more than just a coach for Spain forward Ferran Torres. He is also the father of the Barcelona player’s girlfriend — and that’s no problem for them at the World Cup. Torres dates the 20-year-old daughter of Luis Enrique, Sira Martínez, and says he and the coach have done well, separating work and family. “The coach and I are being able to separate when we are family and when we are coach and player,” the 22-year-old Torres said Sunday in Qatar, where Spain will play in Group E. He and Sira have not hidden their relationship, but the forward has not often spoken publicly about it. “You have to deal with it naturally,” Torres said. “It is what it is, and we have been dealing with it very well.” Read more: Barcelona joins Qatar World Cup boycott; will not host public viewings Luis Enrique brought up Torres’ relationship with his daughter in one of his appearances as a streamer on Twitch. When asked about which player he felt was the most similar to him when he used to play, Luis Enrique — a former midfielder for Spain’s national team and for Barcelona — had a long pause and then said, laughing: “This one is very easy for me. It’s Ferran Torres. Because if not, my daughter will get me and cut my head off.” Torres hinted he was watching the stream when Luis Enrique made the joke. “I’m a fan of his streams. Every night we are waiting to watch him and we have a good time with it,” Torres said. “He jokes a lot. It was something that came up live, it was a joke.” Torres is one of the many youngsters Luis Enrique picked for Spain’s revamped squad. He hasn’t played many minutes with Barcelona under coach Xavi Hernández, but started for Spain in the two Nations League matches in September. He also came off the bench in the World Cup warmup against Jordan last week. Torres plays more on the sides but can also be used at the top of the attack at the striker position, where Luis Enrique only brought Álvaro Morata to his squad. “We have eight forwards and that helps,” said Torres, who feels like good performances in Qatar may help his case at the club level with Barcelona. “The World Cup may work as a trampoline for me and many other players.” Spain is trying to win a second World Cup title after lifting the trophy for the first time in 2010 in South Africa. The team’s first match in Qatar is on Wednesday against Costa Rica. The team will then face Germany and Japan. Read more: Real Madrid show Barcelona still have a long way to go