Fans bring colour back to Camp Nou

At long last, there were fans inside the Camp Nou again. It was still a far cry from the days prior to 7 March 2020, the last time the stadium was filled before Covid-19 regulations kicked in, but the 20,284 fans who were admitted to the ground, and coincidentally enough against the same opponent, Real Sociedad, managed to make it feel like there were whole lot more.

It was simply fabulous to feel the warmth of the blaugrana faithful colouring the stands once again after so many months of silence.

The fans were all well spaced out across the terraces, and were strictly separated into different zones, with all the usual safety requirements in place, including compulsory facemasks.

But although 526 days ago, such things were still somewhat bizarre, these days they are an accepted and normal part of life in Barcelona, as they are in much of the world. So they did nothing to dampen the spirits of the fans inside the ground - the cheering, the chants, the smiles... almost like the old days. Beautiful.