A special day, full of emotion. On the night Spotify Camp Nou reopened its doors, Joan Garcia and Raphinha made their long-awaited returns in a Barça shirt. It had been 58 days since the two players, both key figures for Hansi Flick, last featured for the blaugranes. From the 3-1 win at Oviedo to this emphatic 4–0 victory over Athletic Club.

First time at Spotify Camp Nou

Both men had missed nine matches through their respective injuries, the goalkeeper having been an undisputed starter before suffering a tear of the inner meniscus in his left knee.

In his eighth appearance for the team he was commanding between the posts and produced several outstanding saves to mark a clean sheet on what was also his debut at the revamped Spotify Camp Nou.

Brazilian back

As for the Brazilian, Raphinha has now recovered from the mid-section tear in his right biceps femoris. His appearance against Athletic was his 24th at Spotify Camp Nou. Coming on in the 80th minute to a warm, sustained ovation from the fans, he also came close to scoring with a shot that skimmed just past Unai Simón’s post. The energy and bite Raphinha brings were back, qualities the team had missed throughout the nine matches he was unable to play.

With these two returns crowning the 4–0 win over Athletic, it truly was the perfect night.

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