La Liga: Barcelona Crush Elche 5-0 as Gordon Shines With Two Assists on Debut

6 hours ago 1

August 24, 2026 | 09:35 am

Barcelona forward Raphinha. Photo: Shutterstock.

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Barcelona began their La Liga title defense in emphatic fashion, crushing Elche 5-0 at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero on Sunday, August 23, with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and debutant Anthony Gordon providing two assists.

As reported by The Straits Times, Raphinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 14th minute after being brought down inside the box by Victor Chust. The Brazil international calmly sent goalkeeper Matias Dituro the wrong way to put Barcelona ahead.

Barcelona continued to threaten despite making several changes to their starting lineup as players returned to full fitness following the World Cup. Lamine Yamal started on the right wing but was replaced by Gordon in the 65th minute.

Karim Adeyemi, another debutant, doubled Barcelona's advantage just before halftime. Raphinha played the German winger through, allowing Adeyemi to slot the ball past Dituro for his first goal in Barcelona colors.

Gordon then made an immediate impact after coming on from the bench.

According to the BBC, the England winger needed only two minutes to register his first assist for Barcelona, slipping a pass through to Raphinha, who fired home his second goal to make it 3-0.

Four minutes later, Gordon produced another decisive contribution. After racing into the penalty area, he squared the ball for Lopez to finish into an unguarded net and put Barcelona four goals ahead.

Lopez completed the scoring in the 79th minute after receiving a pass from youngster Xavi Espart, capping an impressive return following a difficult summer in which he missed Spain's World Cup triumph because of injury.

"It was a great game from the team, we're still getting up to speed and we have to carry on like this," Lopez said, as quoted by The Straits Times.

Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia also played a key role in securing the clean sheet, making several saves as Elche created opportunities despite being overwhelmed for long periods.

The victory gave Hansi Flick's side three points at the start of their title defense, matching Real Madrid's winning start after Jose Mourinho's team defeated Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday.

Flick praised both the result and Elche's approach despite the wide margin.

"Five goals against this team is good, Elche play fantastic football," Flick said, according to The Straits Times. "We are really happy that we won 5-0, three points, this is a fantastic start for us."

Gordon's performance was particularly notable following his move from Newcastle United during the summer. The 25-year-old recorded only two assists in 26 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last season but finished as the club's leading scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, according to the BBC.

Barcelona will next face Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, August 27, as they continue their defense of the La Liga title.

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