Joan Garcia, Martin react after Barcelona 4-0 Athletic Club on Camp Nou return – ‘We’ve changed a few things’ | OneFootball

Playing their first game at the redeveloped Spotify Camp Nou, FC Barcelona cruised to a resounding 4-0 victory over Athletic Club today, to claim top spot in the La Liga standings.

It was a thoroughly dominant performance from the reigning champions as they never let Ernesto Valverde’s men get a foot in. Goals from Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres (x2), and Fermin Lopez helped secure the victory.

Joan Garcia happy after return

It was a special occasion for Joan Garcia, as he made his return to action from injury after close to two months, with the goalkeeper starring on his debut at Camp Nou.

The 24-year-old was reliable whenever needed, and was not afraid to charge out and perform as a sweeper-keeper when required, helping Barcelona keep their first clean sheet in two months.

“I’ve felt the affection of the people. Very happy to return with a victory,” he said after the game.

“I feel comfortable trying to help the team. If I need to be braver, I’m happy to be. Today it went well.”

Discussing the clean sheet, the Spaniard added: “We’ve been looking for a clean sheet for a while now. We’ve changed a few things, but every game is different. Hopefully, we can achieve it in the following matches as well.”

“Athletic is a very dangerous team, they press very well, and they managed to steal the ball from us near our goal. That early goal was good, and now we have to keep working hard for Tuesday,” he added on the victory.

On how it felt to be playing at the Spotify Camp Nou, Garcia remarked: “We were really looking forward to playing here, and it’s been filled to the maximum capacity possible. Hopefully, we can continue like this for every match.”

However, the shot-stopper did admit that it felt a bit strange to play without fans behind him in one of the stands still not open for fans.

“It’s strange playing without fans behind me, but I tend to isolate myself quite a bit on the field. Hopefully, we can have fans back in that end soon too,” he noted.

Concluding, Garcia gave his thoughts on the competition for the goalkeeping spot in the Spain national team, where Athletic Club’s Unai Simon is the current first choice.

“Unai is a teammate. I’m still working, taking it easy as I’m coming back from a rather long injury. I need to regain my confidence and get back to my best possible shape,” he noted.

Gerard Martin emotional

Gerard Martin (R) had a solid game. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Gerard Martin also turned in an impressive performance on the evening. A surprise starter, Flick opted to field him as the left-sided centre-back vs Athletic Club, choosing him ahead of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.

And, the 23-year-old defender repaid the faith shown by the manager with a solid display in his new role, before eventually moving back to the left-back slot later on in the match.

“I had been training as a centre-back for a few weeks and I knew I could be called up at any moment,” said Martin.

Talking about the demands of playing in the role, he added: “There’s tension in every play because you have to be very active to push the line. I feel comfortable in that position.”

Regarding the return to Camp Nou, Martin touched on how it made him emotional, saying:

“Before the game, my mother showed me some photos of when I was little watching a game here. It’s very emotional to be here.

“In these two or three years everything has changed a lot for me. I’ve worked hard and I got it into my head what I had to do, with confidence and working, as always.”

Source: MARCA