Barcelona lead Liga after Rodri debut without a striker

Barcelona have taken early control of La Liga despite lacking an established centre-forward, while Rodri made his first appearance for the club. The Spain midfielder came on after the interval against Athletic Bilbao, receiving an ovation at Camp Nou as he began his Barcelona career.

The defending champions followed their opening 5-0 win at Elche with a 2-0 victory over Athletic. Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute after being played through by Pedri and rounding Unai Simon, while Fermin Lopez added the second eight minutes from time after Aymeric Laporte failed to deal with the ball. Barcelona therefore have six points, seven goals and no goals conceded, placing them first ahead of Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Betis, who also won their first two matches.

Raphinha has again operated as the central attacker following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. Coach Hansi Flick has not committed to making that his permanent position, but the Brazilian’s energy and intensity have made him effective there. Barcelona had wanted Julian Alvarez, although Atletico Madrid have refused to negotiate, leaving 18-year-old Egyptian Hamza Abdelkarim as the only other centre-forward option named in the squad. He remained on the bench for the second consecutive match.