Lamine Yamal Unai Simon was the private duel that decided how good Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Athletic Club actually looked, and the scoreboard came out on the wrong side of it. Barça’s No 10 produced his sharpest performance of the young season at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday night, and still walked off without a goal, because the man in the Athletic goal had one of those evenings.
The 2-0 result was the smallest honest version of a game Barça dominated from the first whistle. Raphinha opened the scoring from the false-nine role and Fermín López settled it, taking the pair to six goals between them in two matchdays. Rodri made his debut to an ovation, Pedri ran the game, Xavi Espart kept surprising his own manager and Anthony Gordon won over a new crowd. The one thing missing from the highlight reel was the name most people had come to watch.
Lamine Yamal Unai Simon: four shots that were practically goals
According to Mundo Deportivo, Unai Simón saved four Lamine Yamal efforts that were, in their words, practically goals. When the goalkeeper could not get there, the crossbar did the job instead, repelling a perfectly struck curler — the kind of finish that has become his signature — for the first time this season.
The chances he made for other people fared no better. Two passes released Raphinha with only the goalkeeper to beat, and neither was converted. Two more found Karim Adeyemi, and Unai Simón denied him as well. There was even a lay-off in the 59th minute that put Espart through to test the Athletic keeper. On another night, Lamine finishes with a goal and three assists and the conversation is about nothing else.
What the performance actually looked like
Strip out the finishing and the display was the most complete he has given since the season began. He dictated the tempo, beat Athletic’s debutant full-back on the inside and the outside at will, and when they doubled up on him he simply took on both. Mundo Deportivo’s verdict was that he was dynamic, in world-star mode, and repeatedly lifted supporters out of their seats.
The context matters, because it had been a strange few days. The Madrid-based media had spent most of the week arguing that Barça’s teenager looked flat and had stalled — a narrative MD characterised bluntly as a campaign. He answered it with his feet rather than his mouth, which is usually the more permanent form of reply.
Flick’s night was about everything else
Speaking after the game, and quoted by Barca Universal, Hansi Flick was in an expansive mood. “Everyone is happy that Rodri is playing with us. He’s the perfect player for us, for our style. Bernal also had a fantastic game,” he said of his new midfielder, whose introduction was the emotional peak of the evening. You can read more on Rodri’s debut and the message he sent to Lamine Yamal.
On Raphinha through the middle, Flick declined to make it permanent after ninety minutes: “We don’t know. For this match, yes. For me, it’s important that when we have Raphinha or any other number 9, we can stick to our game plan.” He was warmer still on the teenager at left-back, admitting he was “really impressed” and even surprised by what Espart is giving him in a position that is not his own. MD’s report on the 19-year-old noted he took a booking for a deliberate tactical foul to smother an Iñaki Williams shooting chance, and picked out Raphinha’s head with a pass that came back off the base of the post.
Two rounds, two clean sheets, top of the table
Flick had told DAZN before kick-off that winning all 19 home league games was the key to last season, and this was the start he wanted. Barça now sit top of La Liga after two matchdays, with a 5-0 win at Elche and this 2-0 behind them. As Mundo Deportivo pointed out, it is the first time in the Flick era that his Barça have opened a league campaign without conceding in either of the first two rounds — and only Real Betis have matched it in the division.
Rayo Vallecano visit the Camp Nou on Monday. For Lamine Yamal, the account is still at zero and the performances are already close to their ceiling; those two things rarely stay apart for long. Our full player ratings from the Athletic win have the rest of the marks.
Sources: Mundo Deportivo and Barca Universal.
