Incumbent Spanish champions Barcelona secured a convincing 5:0 victory over Elche in their opening match of the new 2026/27 La Liga season. The Catalan side, managed by Hansi Flick, took control from the first minute and left their opponents with no real chance of a result. In total, the team registered 11 shots on goal, seven of which were on target, clearly reflecting their superiority in class and possession. Raphinha and Fermín López each scored twice for the winners, while Karim Adeyemi added another goal — his first in the Barcelona shirt.
A confident start and Raphinha's brace
The score was opened as early as the 14th minute: Barcelona won a penalty, which Raphinha converted flawlessly, leaving the home goalkeeper Matías Dituro with no chance as he failed to guess the direction of the ball. By the end of the first half, the Brazilian had already played the role of assistant — it was his pass that set up newcomer Karim Adeyemi, who this summer joined the Catalan club from Borussia Dortmund. Thus, the teams went to the break with the visitors leading 2:0.
Adeyemi's debut goal and Fermín López's star turn
In the second half, Barcelona continued to dominate, though they did not rush to make the scoreline a rout. The turning point came in the 67th minute, when Raphinha responded to a pass from Anthony Gordon and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to complete his brace. Then it was Fermín López's time: first, the 23-year-old Spaniard scored off the same Gordon assist, and eight minutes later, in the 78th minute, he finished off the opposition, tucking the ball under the crossbar to complete his brace. The final 5:0 was the most convincing start for the Catalans in the new championship.
Gavi's injury and squad losses
The sad news for Barcelona in this match was the injury to central midfielder Gavi. The 22-year-old sustained an injury at the end of the first half and was replaced by Pedri; an estimated recovery timeline for the player is expected to be announced on Monday. In addition, another club newcomer, Rodri, did not feature, while Alejandro Balde and Héctor Fort were not even included in the squad. Frenkie de Jong and Rony Bardghji remain out due to injuries, which limits the squad's depth at the start of the season.
Contradictory data
When cross-checking facts across different sources, minor discrepancies were found. First, in the main version of the event, Raphinha's penalty is dated to the 14th minute, while a number of publications cite the 15th minute. Second, some sources describe the Elche – Barcelona match as the first round, whereas others placed it in the second round of La Liga. These inconsistencies do not affect the key fact — the rout with a 5:0 scoreline and the goal scorers — however, the editorial team reports the exact round number and the minute of the first goal with a caveat.
What's next
On August 27, Barcelona will play the postponed first-round match against Athletic Bilbao, and this game will be held at the Catalans' home ground. Meanwhile, on August 28, Elche will face Racing in the third round of La Liga. For Barcelona, the main question in the coming days will be Gavi's condition and the readiness of the other injured players for the busy start-of-championship schedule.
