FC Barcelona crush Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener

FC Barcelona opened their La Liga campaign with a statement 5-0 victory vs. Elche. Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both scored two goals, while new signing Karim Adeyemi scored his first official goal for the club. With five goals and three points to start the season, Barca are off to the right start as they look to win their third consecutive league title.

A wonderful first half for Raphinha

Barca opened the scoring just 13 minutes in with a well-hit penalty from Raphinha. The Brazilian forward was fouled in the penalty area after cutting inside Victor Chust, who brought him down. Raphinha, who played today as a striker, converted his seventh penalty in a row in league play.

With Barcelona progressing their play throughout the rest of the opening half, Karim Adeyemi scored a goal on his debut to double their lead. Barca quickly hit the counter, with Yamal playing Raphinha in space. The skipper put the ball on a plate for Adeyemi, who scored the team’s second of the night.

Barca added three more in the second half

Just two minutes after coming on for his Barca debut in the 65th minute, Anthony Gordon made an immediate impact. Released into space, Gordon made the great decision to play Raphinha into space before scoring his second past Elche keeper Matías Dituro.

Just four minutes after their third goal, Fermin joined the action to score Barca’s 4th of the night. Gordon was once again a part of the action as he timed a great run from inside his own half to stay onside and receive Dani Olmo’s through ball. One-on-one with Dituro, Gordon made the unselfish decision to square the ball for Fermin, who finished the chance into an empty net.

In the 79th minute, Barcelona closed their scoring account for the day once again through Fermin. Young full-back Xavi Espart found Fermin in space, who turned from Redondo before finishing across the net to score his second and Barca’s 5th of the match.