{"id":20502,"date":"2026-08-23T21:51:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T21:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edumarkng.com\/news\/barcelona-thrash-elche-5-0-in-la-liga-opener\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T21:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T21:51:13","slug":"barcelona-thrash-elche-5-0-in-la-liga-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edumarkng.com\/news\/barcelona-thrash-elche-5-0-in-la-liga-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener, \"Barcelona<\/p>\n

Spanish champions Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Elche on Sunday in their La Liga opener with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and Anthony Gordon setting up two goals on his debut.<\/p>\n

After watching Jose Mourinho\u2019s Real Madrid defeat Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday with a late winner, Barca\u2019s display warned the Portuguese coach that the Catalans will not relinquish the title easily.<\/p>\n

Karim Adeyemi also found the net on his debut as Barca made light work of a vulnerable Elche side at the Martinez Valero stadium.<\/p>\n

Hansi Flick started with several regular starters on the bench as they continue to get up to speed following the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Teenage winger Lamine Yamal, a key part of the triumphant Spain squad, did start on the right but was far from his best, although it did not matter given Barca\u2019s otherwise sparkling display.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a difficult place to go and they\u2019re a team that like to have the ball, but we did very well,\u201d Raphinha told Movistar.<\/p>\n

Brazil international Raphinha lined up as the team\u2019s number nine, after Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres left the club, and shone.<\/p>\n

Barcelona are still looking for a striker after Atletico Madrid rejected their bid to sign Julian Alvarez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll leave that to the president,\u201d said Raphinha, when asked if Barca needed to sign a number nine. \u201cI am comfortable (anywhere) on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raphinha was cut down in the box by Victor Chust and stroked home the resulting penalty after 14 minutes to get Flick\u2019s team on their way.<\/p>\n

Eric Garcia was sharp at the back to ward off a threatening Elche attack, while Barca\u2019s Gavi caught the eye in midfield \u2014 admittedly more for his pink haircut, to celebrate Spain\u2019s triumph, than for his performance.<\/p>\n

Rapid winger Adeyemi, playing on the left, started shakily but grew into the game and doubled Barca\u2019s lead before the break after Raphinha unselfishly set him up.<\/p>\n

In the second half, former Newcastle United winger Gordon, on as a substitute, teed up Raphinha for his second and then supplied Lopez for Barca\u2019s fourth in an electric and impressive cameo.<\/p>\n

Youngster Xavi Espart played in Lopez, who endured a difficult summer after missing Spain\u2019s World Cup triumph through injury, for his second to seal Barcelona\u2019s comfortable triumph.<\/p>\n

Flick\u2019s high-line defence showed the occasional sign of its usual frailty but goalkeeper Joan Garcia did well when called on to keep a clean sheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were playing against a great team and you pay for your errors,\u201d said Elche defender Chust.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough day but I\u2019ll take from it that the team didn\u2019t stop running.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

, <\/p>\n

Spanish champions Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Elche on Sunday in their La Liga opener with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and Anthony Gordon setting up two goals on his debut.<\/p>\n

The post Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

, , efosataiwo@vanguardngr.com, {authorlink},, , Vanguard News, August 23, 2026, 9:51 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barcelona thrash Elche 5-0 in La Liga opener, Spanish champions Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Elche on Sunday in their La Liga opener with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and Anthony Gordon setting up two goals on his debut. After watching Jose Mourinho\u2019s Real Madrid defeat Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vanguardngr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AFP__20260823__C6CB8LH__v1__MidRes__FblEspLigaElcheBarcelona-1024x715.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1934],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sports-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t