Barcelona dominates Elche
Barcelona opened the LaLiga season with a 5-0 rout of Elche at the Martínez Valero stadium. Raphinha, who occupies the number 9 spot after the departure of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, opened the scoreline with a penalty after being tackled by Victor Chust at 14 minutes. Karim Adeyemi, who started with an irregular pace, got back into the game and doubled the advantage before the break, after a pass from Raphinha.
In the second half, former Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon came on as a substitute and provided an assist to Raphinha for his second goal. Then Gordon supplied an assist to Fermin López, who scored his first goal of the season. López, who had a difficult summer after an injury that kept him out of Spain’s World Cup, sealed the score with a second goal at 59 minutes.
Coach Hansi Flick, who began with several starters on the bench, said the team was “in a process of adaptation” after the World Cup. “Five goals against this team is good, Elche plays fantastic football,” Flick told reporters.
Match details
Barcelona displayed total dominance: Raphinha and Fermin López each scored two goals, while Anthony Gordon assisted two of them. Karim Adeyemi, in his debut, also contributed with a goal. Goalkeeper Joan Garcia kept a clean sheet, although the high-line defense showed occasional vulnerabilities.
The match was played on Sunday, with Barcelona as the defending champion. The team, still looking for a striker after Lewandowski and Torres left, showed its ability to overcome a vulnerable Elche. The result gave Barcelona three points and renewed confidence for the upcoming fixtures.
The game ended 5-0 in favor of Barcelona, marking a solid season start and leaving Elche without points in their opening fixture of the campaign.
