La Liga: Adeyemi scores on debut as Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0

Spanish champions Barcelona began their La Liga campaign with a resounding 5-0 victory over Elche, showcasing a potent offense with multiple debutant goalscorers.

Raphinha and Fermin Lopez were the standout performers, each netting twice. Newcomers Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon also made immediate impacts, scoring on their respective debuts. Gordon, in particular, provided two assists in an impressive cameo appearance after coming on as a substitute.

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This is a difficult place to go, and they’re a team that like to have the ball, but we did very well.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick opted to start several regular players on the bench, managing their fitness post-World Cup. While teenage winger Lamine Yamal started, his performance was overshadowed by the team's overall brilliance. Raphinha, stepping into a number nine role following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, scored the opening goal from a penalty.

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I’ll leave that to the president.

Adeyemi doubled Barcelona's lead before halftime after a selfless assist from Raphinha. In the second half, Gordon set up both Raphinha for his second goal and Lopez for Barcelona's fourth. Youngster Xavi Espart then assisted Lopez for his second goal, sealing the comfortable win.

Despite the convincing scoreline, Barcelona's high defensive line showed occasional signs of vulnerability, though goalkeeper Joan Garcia managed to keep a clean sheet. Elche defender Victor Chust acknowledged the difficulty of facing Barcelona, stating, "It was a tough day, but I’ll take from it that the team didn’t stop running."

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We were playing against a great team, and you pay for your errors.