Barcelona opened their 2026-27 La Liga season with a dominant 5-0 away win against Elche on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium in Elche, Spain [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Raphinha was the standout player, scoring twice and providing an assist to earn man-of-the-match honors. He opened the scoring with a penalty in the 14th minute after a foul by Victor Chust. Raphinha’s second goal came in the 67th minute, assisted by substitute Anthony Gordon [1, 2, 4, 5, 6].

Fermin Lopez also scored twice, netting his first goal in the 71st minute, assisted by Gordon, and completing his brace with a goal in the 79th minute [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. Karim Adeyemi, one of Barcelona’s summer signings, made an impressive debut by scoring the second goal in first-half stoppage time from a Raphinha assist. Gordon also provided two assists in the match, marking a strong start for both new players [2, 4, 5, 6].

Barcelona’s teenage winger Lamine Yamal started the match but struggled to impact the game, missing a notable chance early on [2, 4, 5, 7, 6]. The team played without several regular starters, who are still regaining fitness after the World Cup, but manager Hansi Flick praised the performance. Flick said: "We are really happy that we won 5-0, three points, this is a fantastic start for us. It gives us the confidence we need for the next matches" [2].

Despite off-season departures of key forwards Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, Barcelona began the season aiming for a third consecutive La Liga title [1, 2, 8]. Raphinha commented on his role, saying, "I’ll leave that to the president. I am comfortable (anywhere) on the pitch," and added, "Whether a game is easy or hard depends on us. If we start playing at the maximum level, we’re likely to win. It was a very tough game, but we did our job" [2, 4].

Fermin Lopez summed up the mood after the match: "We ended up feeling good... it was a great game from the team, we’re still getting up to speed and we have to carry on like this" [2].

Barcelona will look to maintain momentum when they face their next La Liga opponent later this week.