Barcelona continued their winning run in the Spanish La Liga, defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at Camp Nou after dominating possession and attacking play. Brazilian forward Raphinha and Spanish midfielder Fermín López scored for the Catalan side.

The victory moved Barcelona to the top of the La Liga standings.

Hansi Flick’s side applied attacking pressure on Athletic Bilbao from the opening minutes. Barcelona enjoyed 70 percent possession throughout the match and registered 22 shots, with 10 on target. The scoreline could have been much wider if Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón had not produced a series of outstanding saves. The Spanish goalkeeper made at least eight crucial stops to deny Barcelona.

Barcelona took the lead in the 37th minute. Raphinha calmly finished after receiving a superb defence-splitting pass from midfielder Pedri. It was his third goal of the season. Earlier, in the 29th minute, a goal by Pedri was ruled out for offside.

Barcelona went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

The hosts continued to dominate after the break. In the 53rd minute, Lamine Yamal’s powerful effort from around 20 yards struck the crossbar and bounced away.

In the 63rd minute, Rodrigo Hernández came on for Raphinha and made his debut for Barcelona.

Barcelona eventually doubled their lead in the 82nd minute. Substitute Karim Adeyemi sent the ball across from the left, and after an Athletic Bilbao defender failed to control it, Fermín López found the empty net.

Athletic Bilbao managed only five shots throughout the match, none of which were on target, and failed to seriously test the Barcelona goalkeeper.

With the victory, Barcelona have collected six points from their opening two matches and moved to the top of the La Liga table. Real Madrid also have six points but sit second due to an inferior goal difference.