Barcelona's Title Defence Begins With 5-0 Rout Of Elche

Raphinha and Lopez braces sink Elche

Barcelona made light work of Elche at the Martinez Valero Stadium to open their La Liga title defence. Raphinha put the visitors ahead in the 14th minute, converting a penalty after Victor Chust brought him down in the box.

Karim Adeyemi, playing his first competitive match since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, doubled the lead before half-time after Raphinha squared the ball to him. Substitute Anthony Gordon, on for the second half, then had an immediate impact, setting up Raphinha for his second goal before teeing up Fermin Lopez soon after. Lopez completed his own brace late on, converted from a pass by young full-back Xavi Espart, to make it 5-0.

Gavi forced off with knee injury

The result was overshadowed by an injury to Gavi, who went down clutching his right knee in the 44th minute and had to be replaced by Pedri. The location of the injury drew immediate concern, as it was the same knee in which Gavi ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged his meniscus in November 2023. Barcelona later confirmed the midfielder underwent surgery for a medial meniscus injury and is expected to be out for around four to five months.

A rout built on more than just the scoreline

Elche, who drew 1-1 with Deportivo on the opening weekend, were second best for long spells and managed only sporadic spells of pressure against Barcelona's defence without finding a way past goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who kept a clean sheet on the day.

The result extended Barcelona's dominance of the fixture: they have not lost to Elche since December 1974 and have now beaten them 12 times in a row across all competitions.

Speaking after the match, Raphinha said simply that "whether a game is easy or hard depends on us."

What's next

Barcelona's next fixture, at home to Athletic Club on Thursday, August 27, was actually meant to be their league opener before it was postponed because several Barcelona players were still involved in the 2026 World Cup — pushing this Elche match forward to be their first league game of the season instead.