Goals from Ousmane Dembele, Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres saw Barcelona to a comfortable 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, leaving them just three points behind LaLiga leaders Real Madrid after 11 games.
Xavi’s men were on their way to victory in the 12th minute thanks to Dembele. His initial curling strike was pushed away by Unai Simon, but Lewandowski crossed the loose ball back into the Frenchman’s path to nod home his third league goal of the season.
Barca doubled their lead five minutes later when Sergi Roberto’s deflected strike beat Simon, with Dembele turning provider at the end of a swift break.
Ernesto Valverde’s men were already facing a mountain to climb, and were forced into a change when the injured Ander Herrera was replaced by Dani Garcia.
To add further salt to Bilbao’s gaping wounds, the Catalans added a third which saw Lewandowski at his majestic best inside the box.
Dembele showed some superb footwork down the right flank to tee up the Poland captain, who brilliantly swivelled in the box and smashed his shot past Simon.
It was not all plain-sailing for the hosts though, as Kopa Trophy winner Gavi was withdrawn following a hefty clash with Garcia and Franck Kessie entered the fray.
Xavi’s men had further chances to kill off the contest after the break through Ansu Fati and Torres, with the hosts keen not to rest on their laurels.
Dembele got his third assist of the match when he picked out Torres for Barca’s fourth, as the former Manchester City man fired the ball through Simon’s legs.
Roberto was forced off injured late on in some pain as Barca ended the match with 10 men, to put a dampener on an otherwise fine night for the hosts.
The result secured back-to-back wins for Barcelona, and helped to lift the gloom in Catalonia following two demoralising matches against Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
However, it was a miserable return to Barcelona for Valverde, whose side are now winless in four LaLiga matches and Los Leones’ almost 20-year wait for an away victory against Barça continues.
