World : Barcelona Open La Liga Title Defense With 5-0 Rout Of Elche

Anthony Gordon made his Barcelona debut with a remarkable performance, providing two assists within the first five minutes. The England winger, who transferred from Newcastle to Barcelona this summer, came on as a substitute for Lamine Yamal in the 65th minute. Gordon first assisted Raphinha by delivering the ball to him after just two minutes on the field, marking his first assist in the game.

Moments later, Gordon raced through on goal and squared the ball to Fermin Lopez, who scored the fourth goal, making the score 4-0. Despite scoring just two assists in 26 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last season, Gordon had been the team's top scorer with 17 goals across all competitions. The victory marked Barcelona's opening win of the La Liga title defense, following Real Madrid's successful debut against Espanyol on Saturday.

The hosts took the lead in the 14th minute after Raphinha was fouled inside the box by Victor Chust, with the Brazilian scoring the penalty. Elche nearly equalized in the first half, but failed to capitalize on their chances. Karim Adeyemi, another debutant from Borussia Dortmund, doubled Barcelona's lead shortly before halftime.

However, Gavi's injury and subsequent substitution for Pedri left Elche further behind. Gordon came on in the second half, contributing to the remaining two goals, with Lopez sealing the win in the 79th minute. Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao in their next match on Thursday, 27 August at 20:00 BST.