Sports
La Liga: Adeyemi scores on debut as Barcelona crush Elche 5-0
Barcelona began their La Liga title defence in stunning fashion on Sunday, thrashing Elche 5-0 at the Martinez Valero Stadium.
Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both scored twice, while Karim Adeyemi marked his Barcelona debut with a goal. Substitute Anthony Gordon also made an instant impact, providing two assists.
Barcelona took control early when Raphinha was brought down in the box by Victor Chust and calmly converted the resulting penalty in the 14th minute.
Adeyemi then doubled the champions’ lead before half-time, finishing after Raphinha set him up.
Despite resting several regular starters as the squad continues to recover from the World Cup, Hansi Flick’s side remained dominant. Lamine Yamal started on the right, while Eric Garcia impressed defensively and Gavi also featured in midfield.
Gordon came off the bench in the second half and produced an electric cameo, setting up Raphinha for his second goal before assisting Lopez for Barcelona’s fourth.
Lopez later completed the scoring with his second goal after being played through by youngster Xavi Espart.
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia also made important saves to preserve a clean sheet as Barcelona sent a strong message in their opening game of the new La Liga season.
