Elche 0-5 Barcelona: Gordon stars on debut as Barça return to LaLiga action | OneFootball

Anthony Gordon registered two assists as a second-half substitute as Barcelona claimed an impressive 0-5 win against Elche on Sunday.

Elche were held to a 1-1 draw by Deportivo A Coruña on Monday, while Sunday’s trip to the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero represented Barcelona’s first game of the 2026/27 LaLiga season as their Matchday 1 fixture was postponed due to a sizeable contingent of Hansi Flick’s squad being involved at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

With seven of Spain’s World Champions only returning to training a fortnight ago, the Blaugrana were slow to get going but led at the break through a Raphinha penalty and a Karim Adeyemi finish just before the interval.

The visitors picked up the pace in the second half with Raphinha netting his second goal of the night before Fermín López bagged a brace of his own, with assists from both Anthony Gordon and Xavi Espart.

Barcelona now turn their attention to upcoming fixtures against Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano before the end of the month, while Elche will look to secure their first win of the season against top-flight newcomers Racing de Santander.

As it happened

Seeking an 11th consecutive LaLiga victory against Elche, Lamine Yamal came close to scoring an early opener after being played through on the right flank, although the teenager could only watch in disbelief as he punted his effort over the bar from close range.

But the travelling fans weren’t kept waiting for too long, as Victor Chust was judged to have hacked down Raphinha inside the penalty area with 13 minutes on the clock after Fermín López played a fabulous first-time pass through to the makeshift striker. He stepped up to convert from the spot, rolling low and past Matias Dituro, who dived the right way but couldn’t quite reach it.

Elche, who finished just a point above the relegation zone in LaLiga last season, were a formidable opponent for much of the first half – though their own lack of a focal point came back to bite them on several occasions, as David Affengruber failed to steer a header on target and a Tete Morente cross into the box went unanswered.

It was quite a relief for Barcelona when Karim Adeyemi, who flashed an effort wide of the far post in the 43rd minute, slotted home inside stoppage time to double their advantage. A lovely passage of play saw Yamal find Raphinha, who slid the ball through the Elche defence for the German forward to curl a composed finish on his full debut for the Catalan side past Dituro.

Barça emerged from the break as the stronger of the two sides and could have quickly extended their lead further when Adeyemi set up Yamal, but the 19-year-old blasted his first-time strike from range over the crossbar. Perhaps it just wasn’t his day.

The same cannot be said for Anthony Gordon, who – after impressing the fanbase by speaking Spanish and Catalan at his club unveiling – bagged a pair of assists just minutes into his competitive debut for the Blaugrana. Darting forward, the England international picked out Raphinha, who in turn rippled the bottom corner to put Barcelona in cruise control.

The ex-Newcastle man’s second assist swiftly followed, as after racing through and finding himself one-on-one with Dituro, he opted to selflessly square for Fermín López to tap home.

And after a fairly quiet first half, the Andalusian completed his brace with just over ten minutes left to play. Receiving the ball from left-back Xavi Espart, he turned to face goal and danced beyond his marker to pick out the bottom corner, capping off a five-star performance from Hansi Flick’s Barcelona as they mount a defence of the LaLiga title.

Barcelona analysis: A successful transfer window… but is there more to come?

Given that the Blaugrana boast seven of Spain’s 2026 FIFA World Cup winners amongst their ranks, a sizeable contingent of Hansi Flick’s first-team squad only returned to training a fortnight ago.

They could be forgiven, then, for looking a little off the pace in the opening minutes of their 2026/27 LaLiga campaign.

But still, there were signs of promise from the Blaugrana as they (eventually) cruised to a comfortable win in Elche on Sunday. Karim Adeyemi doubled Barça’s lead just before the break on his full debut for the club, demonstrating composure to take a touch and curl past the goalkeeper after being played through on goal by Raphinha.

Anthony Gordon’s two assists in four second-half minutes were certainly a statement of intent from the England international, who only managed to tee up a teammate twice in the Premier League throughout the entirety of last season.

19-year-old Xavi Espart – a La Masia graduate – was afforded a start at left-back as Alejandro Baldé nears a move to Manchester United, while Raphinha was chosen to lead the line as Barcelona continue their search for an out-and-out striker.

It is no secret that Barça are vying to secure the services of Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez, who has reciprocated his interest in leaving the Spanish capital this summer – much to the dismay of the Colchoneros fans, who booed the Argentinian forward during the club’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal earlier on Sunday.

There’s just over a week of the transfer window left, so we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled as Barça look to get some late arrivals over the line. But if Sunday’s meeting with Elche is anything to go by, it seems that a lack of a natural striker isn’t going to be too much of a problem.