Raphinha, Fermín shine on debut: Barcelona thrash Anselmi's Elche 5-0 | OneFootball

Barcelona began the defense of its crown with a commanding 5-0 win over Elche on the opening matchday of the Spanish league. Despite being without several key players and lacking a traditional center-forward in the box, the team led by Hansi Flick unleashed its full attacking repertoire and crushed its opponent’s hopes.

Elche’s initial approach, under Martín Anselmi, showed good intentions built on possession and wing play, especially down Germán Valera’s side. However, that bold plan proved costly at the back against the speed of Barça’s counterattacks. The home side gave minutes to Argentinians Matías Dituro,Federico Redondo and Facundo Buonanotte.

The turning point and the late burst before halftime

The scoring opened in the 13th minute of the first half. Pressed while playing out from the back by the Blaugrana attack, Elche made a mistake that Fermín capitalized on to set up Raphinha, who was brought down by Chust inside the box. The Brazilian winger calmly converted the penalty to make it 1-0.

From then on, the match fell into a stretch of sloppy play in which the home side only threatened with a shot from Ali Houary. The turning point came near the end of the first half with Gavi’s injury; Pedri’s introduction restored order and composure to the Catalan midfield. Just before the break, another ball recovery allowed Raphinha to set up Karim Adeyemi, who finished to extend the lead to 2-0.

Total control and an assist hat trick in the second half

In the second half, Barcelona’s dominance grew against an opponent that ran out of physical answers. Although Buonanotte led Elche’s attempts to pull one back by hitting the post and then losing a one-on-one with goalkeeper Joan García, the visitors’ clinical edge ended any hope of a comeback.

The introduction of Anthony Gordon transformed the final third. The attacker first set up Raphinha, who grabbed his brace and made it 3-0 on the scoreboard. Gordon then took advantage of the spaces in Elche’s defense to assist Fermín twice. The youngster sealed the fourth and fifth goals in the 79th minute, putting the finishing touch on an ideal opening performance for the reigning league champion.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.