Spotify Camp Nou historic homecoming lit up by Yamal as Barca thrash Athletic

Cranes still tower over two of Barcelona's most iconic buildings - but at the Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday there was a celebratory reopening as the Blaugrana made their long-awaited return home.

It's been over 900 days since Barcelona last played at their historic stadium. The wait doesn't quite compare with the 143-year building project across town at the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia but it was an emotional moment for the club's connections, nonetheless. They've craved this day.

From the pre-match and half-time music shows to the firework display after the final whistle, Barcelona were determined to revel in the moment. 'Tornem a Casa' read the banner laid out in the centre circle. 'Let's go home'.

Athletic Club were convenient guests. They haven't won here since 2001 and never looked like ending that run this weekend. Goals at the start of each half, a red card and two sumptuous assists from Lamine Yamal allowed Barcelona's supporters to enjoy the occasion without fear of an upset.

Barcelona moved top of LaLiga with the 4-0 win, ahead of rivals Real Madrid on goal difference. Hansi Flick will be aware his side, admittedly missing several key players, still have work to do to get up to the level they will need to claim major honours again this season.

There is still plenty to do on their stadium, too. Over £1bn has been invested to modernise Barcelona's home ground but the work is far from finished. The club were eager to get back but it will still be months before this much-delayed project is finished.

Just over 45,000 were in the stands for this comeback game. The capacity will eventually reach 105,000, once the famous top tier is filled in. But this was still a powerful homecoming to experience.

Barcelona's last competitive game here came in May 2023. They were due back in November 2024, the club's 125th anniversary season, but building delays and numerous issues dragged out the process of transforming the historic venue. Those setbacks have proved extremely costly for a club which has had to work hard and creatively to manage its finances during the process.

But by the start of next season, when this stadium is fully complete - around the same time Gaudi's magnificent church is due to be finally finished, too - Barcelona will have a modern venue which will rival the best in the world.

Barca had been playing away, at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. The 55,000-seater venue up on the hill had proved to be a suitable temporary accommodation, hosting a team which won a domestic treble last season.

But it was never theirs. That was underlined in September when they were forced to play in the 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium because the council had booked a Post Malone concert for the Olympic Stadium. Ironic, given the new sponsors of their traditional residence.

A training session in front of 20,000 fans earlier this month was the first step back onto the famous turf, while the next phase - this LaLiga game - was preceded by Lionel Messi's covert return to check out developments at his former playground.

The Instagram post of the Barca legend discretely touring the Spotify Camp Nou is the most-liked sports-related post on the platform this year. Thirty-two million and counting. Even more than Cristiano Ronaldo's shot with USA President Donald Trump, which holds significance around here. Ten minutes into Saturday's game, Messi's name was chanted.

This Espai Barca project is being driven by club president Joan Laporta, who has hailed the revamped stadium as "an architectural jewel that will be the best in the world". He also says: "It retains the magic of its greatest moments but with a new soul. It's like going back to the future."

It's poetic language but does resonate while sat in the stands for the comeback beating of Athletic Club.

There is a familiarity to the stage, the scene of Messi's many masterful displays and the legends who delighted the Culers - Barca's faithful fans - before him.

Now it is Yamal wearing No 10 and whose every touch is cheered, whose every dribble or forward pass has the home fans excitedly rising from their seats.

It was fitting he should star in this milestone match. Yamal was just 15 on his last appearance at this stadium. He's still a teenager but now a decorated superstar, primed to shine on this stage for the next decade and a half.

Among the Barcelona team to play in the previous competitive game at this ground were Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Prominent figures in those trophy-laden years of Messi and Pep Guardiola, when Barcelona seemed to reach a pinnacle, of style as well as results.

They are gone now. Over at Inter Miami with Messi. A new era has arrived.

'Mes que un club' is Barcelona's famous motto. More than a club. The Spotify Camp Nou is more than any regular stadium. Rich in history and in the process of being supercharged for the modern world.