Barcelona marks Camp Nou homecoming with 4-0 rout of Athletic Bilbao

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona was back at its beloved Camp Nou and produced a dominant 4-0 victory over 10-man Athletic Bilbao to add to the homecoming celebrations on Saturday.

Some 45,000 fans were on hand as Europe's largest soccer stadium re-opened at roughly half capacity. Camp Nou had been closed for over two years for a major overhaul that the indebted club hopes will boost revenues.

Robert Lewandowski set the tone by scoring just four minutes into the match. Ferran Torres added two goals from a pair of superb passes by fellow forward Lamine Yamal, and Fermín López scored in his first game at Camp Nou. Athletic lost Oihan Sancet to a red card for a dangerous foul of López in the 53rd with the hosts up 3-0.

“We played well from the start and took another three points, but the important thing today is being back at Camp Nou,” Lewandowski said. “It is something else to play here. I think when we play at Camp Nou we are a little bit stronger.”

Barcelona's fans belted out the club hymn before kickoff amid a celebratory vibe despite the chilly weather.

They had reason to be extra happy. The last time they had been able to attend a game at Camp Nou was May 2023. For the following 900-plus days, Barcelona played its home games at the municipally owned 55,000-seat Olympic Stadium located atop a hill overlooking the city that was more difficult to reach.

“It has been two years at the (Olympic Stadium) and it wasn’t easy, the atmosphere wasn’t the same, you could tell it wasn’t Camp Nou,” the 36-year-old fan Carlos Narváez said. “This is like coming home. I am sure the players will feel that way, just like we fans do. You can see how excited everyone is.”

The club set off blue-and-burgundy smoke just minutes before the game and launched fireworks afterwards in an attempt to set the day apart from just another home game. Some fans also took to chanting out “Messi! Messi!” at one point during the game, recalling the glory days of the club's best ever player at the stadium.

But homecoming aside, there is still significant work before the new-look Camp Nou is finished and ready to hold 105,000 fans.

The top tier of Camp Nou remains mostly a skeleton of metal and concrete beams and pillars; huge construction cranes loom over the stadium and are visible from the stands, and there are areas that look like a construction site.

Joan García started in goal and Raphinha went on as a late substitute as both played their first minutes since recovering from leg injuries that had sidelined them for nearly two months.

The win pulled Barcelona level on points with Real Madrid atop the table before Madrid visits Elche on Sunday.

Next up for Barcelona: a trip to London to play Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Work on upgrading Camp Nou began in June 2023 to repair, modernize and expand a venue that previously had a capacity of 99,000. The club secured 1.45 billion euros (then $1.6 billion) from multiple investors to undertake the remodeling project.

Barcelona had originally planned to be back playing games at Camp Nou as early as November 2024 to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary. The date was pushed back several times, and the club has not said when it now expects the stadium work to be completed. The club said it plans to seek permission from authorities to open more seating as work progresses.

Earlier this month, over 20,000 fans turned out to watch Barcelona’s first practice back at Camp Nou.

Barcelona also received authorization from UEFA this week to host Eintracht Frankfurt at Camp Nou on Dec. 9.

Tani Oluwaseyi scored late to help Villarreal beat Mallorca 2-1 and stay in third place, just two points behind the front-runners.

The Canada forward and former Major League Soccer player found the winner in the 83rd-minute.

Ander Barrenetxea scored a goal from inside the center circle as Real Sociedad fought back with three goals in the second half to beat Osasuna 3-1.

The forward caught goalkeeper Sergio Herrera off his line with his lob from the midfield. Herrera backtracked and got a hand on the ball but not enough to keep it out. The goal in the 82nd rounded off Sociedad's first away win of the season.

Iago Aspas converted a penalty early in the second half as Celta Vigo edged Alaves 1-0 on the road.

AP video journalist Hernán Múñoz contributed to this report.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Ferran Torres shoots during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

A general view of the Nou Camp stadion under reconstrucyion is see before La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Fans stand in front of the renovedat Camp Nou stadium before La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal in action in front of Athletic Bilbao's Oihan Sancet during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office didn't reach any conclusions about responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death, which the agency said was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means it resulted from another person's actions — or inaction — but doesn't necessarily mean that a crime was committed.

“This should not have happened,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, said at a news conference Wednesday. Asked whether the Border Patrol was responsible for his death, he declined to comment and said any such determination would be up to law enforcement agencies.

State Attorney General Letitia James and Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane, both Democrats, noted Wednesday that their offices have been reviewing the case. Keane said in a statement that his office had requested Shah Alam's full autopsy report but “it would be inappropriate” to comment further.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection pointed Wednesday to its previous statement that Shah Alam “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance” when agents dropped him off Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons restaurant.

“This death had NOTHING to do” with Border Patrol, its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a Feb. 27 social media post, decrying news coverage of the case as an effort “to demonize our law enforcement.”

Immigrant advocates called Wednesday for justice for Shah Alam, a member of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority. The group has faced discrimination and oppression in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Shah Alam sought safety in the U.S. and “instead, he was left to die in the street,” New York Immigration Coalition President Murad Awawdeh said, calling for a criminal investigation into the Border Patrol agents’ conduct: “Every single person who was involved must be held responsible.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly called for accountability for everyone involved and said her aides spoke to the district attorney Wednesday afternoon. Hochul, a Democrat and Buffalo native, lambasted “the cruelty and inhumanity” of depositing a man who could barely see, or speak English, outside a then-closed restaurant.

Customs and Border Protection has said the restaurant was chosen as “a warm, safe location” near Shah Alam’s last known address.

Many details about the man's health and final days aren't publicly known, as his autopsy report is confidential under New York law.

But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein told reporters that Shah Alam developed what is commonly known as a stress ulcer, brought on in his case by dehydration and exposure to the cold. The ulcer breached his intestinal wall, creating what is generally a very painful medical emergency that needs rapid treatment, she said.

Shah Alam, 56, left Myanmar many years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction. He came to the U.S. as a refugee with his wife and two of his children in December 2024, according to advocates for the family.

Imran Fazal, who knows the family and founded a group called the Rohingya Empowerment Community, said Shah Alam's death left people grieving and fearful.

“This tragedy was entirely preventable, and it reflects a serious failure in the systems meant to protect vulnerable people," Fazal said Wednesday.

Shah Alam spent about a year in the Erie County jail on felony assault and other charges after a 2025 struggle with police who encountered him carrying what appeared to be curtain rods. Police said he bit two officers; advocates for his family said that he hadn't understood officers’ commands to drop the items.

He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser, misdemeanor charges and was released from jail Feb. 19. Border Patrol then briefly detained him before determining that he wasn't eligible for deportation. His family, which had been awaiting his release from jail, wasn't informed of it.

Surveillance video, obtained by the Investigative Post, showed Shah Alam treading carefully through the Tim Hortons' empty parking lot in his county-issued jail booties, pulling his hood up against the cold and walking off into the night.

Shah Alam’s lawyer ultimately reported him missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.

On Feb. 24, he was found dead near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, and Burstein said Wednesday that it was impossible to determine exactly when he died.

FILE - This image from body camera video provided by the Buffalo Police Department shows Nurul Amin Shah Alam, center, led by Buffalo Police officers, Feb. 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Buffalo Police Department via AP, File)