Although the match was part of the second round of fixtures, it was Barcelona’s first league game of the season after their opening-round meeting with Athletic Club had been postponed. The champions needed a few minutes to take control at the Martínez Valero, but once they settled, Barça were particularly clinical in front of goal.
Raphinha puts Barcelona on course early on
Flick opted against using a conventional centre-forward and deployed Raphinha through the middle. The decision soon paid off – the Brazilian was fouled by Víctor Chust inside the penalty area in the 13th minute and converted the resulting spot kick himself to make it 1-0.
Elche continued to play with ambition, repeatedly looking for space behind Barcelona’s high defensive line and managing a handful of attempts before the break. Barça were very direct at times and gave possession away too cheaply on several occasions, but their aggressive pressing repeatedly put the hosts under pressure early in their build-up.
The second goal arrived shortly before half-time. Raphinha set up Karim Adeyemi, who marked his La Liga debut with his first competitive goal for Barcelona in the third minute of stoppage time. The German signing impressed with his pace, repeatedly looked to take defenders on and added another dynamic element to Barça’s attack.
There was one setback, however. Gavi was forced off before half-time with discomfort in his right knee. Pedri took over after the interval and brought noticeably more composure and structure to Barcelona’s play.
Gordon makes an immediate impact off the bench
Elche continued to attack after the break and still managed to create dangerous moments. Facundo Buonanotte hit the post in the 68th minute, although Barcelona had extended their lead to 3-0 just moments earlier.
Anthony Gordon played a decisive role. The Englishman replaced Adeyemi in the 65th minute, with Dani Olmo coming on for Lamine Yamal at the same time. Just two minutes later, Gordon set up Raphinha for the third goal. Soon afterwards, he also provided the assist for Fermín’s 4-0. The summer signing made an immediate impact, using his pace and direct running to add further threat to Barcelona’s attack.
Fermín later completed the scoring. After another quick move, the midfielder arrived inside the penalty area and finished to make it 5-0.
Barça more clinical than dominant
The statistics show that Barcelona did not dominate quite as comprehensively as the scoreline might suggest. The Catalans had just over 54 per cent possession and registered 11 attempts, compared with seven for Elche.
The biggest difference was the quality and conversion of the chances. Barcelona produced 4.13 expected goals, while Elche finished on 0.72. The gap in touches inside the opposition penalty area was surprisingly small, with Barça leading just 21-18.
Raphinha was one of the standout attacking performers. In addition to his two goals, he also assisted Adeyemi’s strike and put all of his own attempts on target. Fermín also scored twice and repeatedly made dangerous runs from midfield into the penalty area.
Lamine Yamal was relatively quiet before being substituted. The winger did get into shooting positions and repeatedly looked to dribble at opponents, but he was unable to influence the game as strongly as some of his attacking team-mates.
New signings make a strong impression
Another positive for Barça was how quickly the new arrivals settled into the side. Adeyemi scored on his league debut, while Gordon collected two assists after coming off the bench.
Their qualities also suited Flick’s approach beyond the goal contributions. Adeyemi provided depth with his runs in behind the defensive line, while Gordon played very directly after his introduction and repeatedly attacked dangerous spaces at pace.
Barcelona therefore already have additional attacking options early in the season. With a demanding schedule ahead over the coming weeks, that added depth could prove particularly valuable.
Flick pleased but still sees room for improvement
Flick was satisfied with the result but still identified areas for improvement. In particular, he was unhappy with some of the turnovers and the lack of control during certain phases of the first half.
Raphinha was also pleased with the emphatic victory but did not want to read too much into the scoreline. The Brazilian highlighted Barcelona’s intensity from the start and felt the team had earned the comfortable win through their approach.
Elche coach Martín Anselmi, meanwhile, pointed mainly to his side’s own mistakes. His team had caused Barcelona problems at times, but against opponents of this quality any lack of precision was punished immediately.
What comes next for both teams?
Barcelona are back in action as early as Thursday, when they face Athletic Club in their rearranged opening-round fixture. Their next league game then follows on Monday against Rayo Vallecano. Elche have a little more time to recover before travelling to Racing Santander on Friday.
