--- title: "Barcelona opened the La Liga season with a thrashing of Elche: Raphinha and Fermín's brace, Adeyemi's debut goal, and Gavi's injury" description: "Barcelona opened the 2026/27 La Liga season with a crushing 5:0 victory over Elche. Raphinha and Fermín López scored braces, while Karim Adeyemi netted his debut goal for the Catalans." date: 2026-08-23T21:44:02.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/barcelona-crushed-elche-in-la-liga-2026-2027-opener tags: [barcelona, elche, la-liga, rafinha, fermin-lopez, karim-adeyemi, gavi] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Barcelona opened the La Liga season with a thrashing of Elche: Raphinha and Fermín's brace, Adeyemi's debut goal, and Gavi's injury ![Fermín López in the Barcelona kit salutes the crowd after a goal in the La Liga match against Elche](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/barselona-razgromala-elche-v-starte-la-ligi-2026-2027/barselona-razgromala-elche-v-starte-la-ligi-2026-2027-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Barcelona thrashed Elche 5:0 in the opening match of La Liga 2026/27. - Raphinha and Fermín López scored braces, while Karim Adeyemi netted his debut goal for the club. - Central midfielder Gavi sustained an injury and was replaced by Pedri; a prognosis is expected on Monday. - On August 27, Barcelona will host the postponed first-round match against Athletic. 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. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [With two braces: Barcelona demolished Elche in La Liga](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/iz-dvoma-dublyami-barselona-vshchent-roznesla-1787521193.html) - Базовый источник: счёт 5:0, дубли Рафиньи и Фермина, гол Адейеми, травма Гави, статистика 11/7, ближайшие матчи. - [Elche – Barcelona. Where and when to watch the online LIVE video broadcast of the championship match ...](https://www.ua-football.com/foreign/spain/1787398673-yelche-barselona-gde-i-kogda-smotret-onlayn-live-pryamuyu-videotranslyaciyu-matcha-chempionata-ispanii.html) - Контекстный источник по матчу и трансляции, не противоречит основному факту. - [Barcelona crushed Elche in the first match of the La Liga season](https://www.sport-express.net/football/spain/news/elche-barselona-rezultat-matcha-2-tura-chempionata-ispanii-23-avgusta-2026-2449543/) - Подтверждает разгром; в заголовке фигурирует «2-й тур», что расходится с версией «первого тура». - [Elche — Barcelona: Raphinha opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the La Liga match](https://www.championat.com/football/news-6593862-elche-barselona-rafinya-otkryl-schyot-na-15-j-minute-matcha-la-ligi.html) - Указывает 15-ю минуту для гола Рафиньи, тогда как базовый текст — 14-ю. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What was the score in the Elche – Barcelona match? **A:** Barcelona won 5:0. Goals: Raphinha (penalty, 14'; 67'), Adeyemi (45+3'), Fermín López (71', 78'). ### Q: Who scored the debut goal for Barcelona in this match? **A:** Karim Adeyemi, who joined the Catalan club this summer from Borussia Dortmund, scored the debut goal. ### Q: Who was injured in this match? **A:** Central midfielder Gavi sustained an injury at the end of the first half and was replaced by Pedri; a recovery prognosis was promised to be announced on Monday. ### Q: When will Barcelona play their next match? **A:** On August 27, Barcelona will host the postponed first-round match against Athletic Bilbao.