Barcelona began their La Liga title defence in emphatic fashion, defeating Elche 5–0 at the Estadio Martínez Valero on Sunday. Raphinha and Fermín López each scored twice, while Karim Adeyemi marked his Barcelona debut with a goal and Anthony Gordon provided two assists after coming on as a substitute.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 14th minute from the penalty spot after Elche defender Víctor Chust brought him down in the area. Barcelona’s captain converted confidently, then created the second goal in first-half stoppage time by setting up Adeyemi, who finished after settling into the match following an uncertain opening period.

Barcelona’s dominance became more pronounced after the interval. Gordon entered in the 65th minute for his La Liga debut and made an immediate impact, assisting Raphinha’s second goal in the 67th minute before setting up Fermín for Barcelona’s fourth four minutes later.

Fermín completed the scoring in the 79th minute, turning away from Elche midfielder Federico Redondo before finishing into the far corner after a pass from young full-back Xavi Espart. The goal completed a strong individual performance from the midfielder, who missed Spain’s World Cup-winning campaign through injury.[fcbarcelona +2]
The result gave Hansi Flick’s side an authoritative start as reigning champions, while Barcelona’s new signings supplied immediate encouragement. Adeyemi scored on his debut, and Gordon registered two assists with his first 15 touches for the club.

Real Madrid also began their campaign with a 2–1 win at Espanyol in José Mourinho’s first league game of his second spell in charge. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, Alex Calatrava equalised for Espanyol and substitute Carlos Espí struck a 90th-minute winner.