After back-to-back UCL disappointments, Barca was back again in action competing in the prestigious tournament.
Barca has a better squad than year’s past, with more depth and experience to boot. But that wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t get off on the right foot against last year’s Belgian champions, Royal Antwerp.
Let’s see how Barca fared.
First half
With previous UCL struggles in the back of our minds, we wanted nothing more than for Barca to get off to a quick start against an opposition they should handle quite easily.
And that they did, scoring three goals within the first 22 minutes of the match.
Joao Felix continues his strong form
The goal party started with none other than Joao Felix, who found the back of the net in his second straight match and his second straight start.
Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski participated in some lovely link up, before the German midfielder found Felix. Felix took his time, then cut back inside, and fired home a right footed effort into the back of the net.
Felix slotting into the left side of the Barca’s attack has worked wonders, especially considering just how intelligent and creative he is in the attacking third. This goal was another example of that, as Felix’s positioning and clinical finishing set himself up for another important goal for Barca.
Onto the next goal now, as it was Felix again contributing, but this time as a playmaker and a creator.
Felix sets up Lewandowski
Felix this time used his valuable right foot to help create instead of scoring.
The young Portuguese forward found the ball of the left flank, then proceeded to dribble until an opening was found. Once he found one, het cut back onto his right foot, then lofted a whirling cross towards the far post.
And waiting at the end of that cross was none other than Lewandowski, who calmly knocked home a header, giving Barca their second goal of the match.
Again, what a player Joao Felix is.
The intelligence, the creativity, it was all on display here. If Felix can keep this level of form, then his partnership with Lewandowski will only increase in quality and effectiveness. And if that occurs, Barca’s attack will look like one of the more dominant in all of Europe.
That’s simply how much potential that duo has, if form can stay at a level head and injuries stay away.
What a frightening, yet exciting time of attacking football for Barca and the supporters.
There was one more goal left for Barca in the first half, but it wasn’t a conventional one. No, not in the slightest.
Raphinha creates an own goal
This goal was a classic deflection own goal, with Raphinha’s cross deflecting off an Antwerp player and into the back of the net.
It wasn’t a goal you’d normally see on your favorite highlight video, but it still counts nonetheless.
With that, the first half came to an end.
Barca was comfortably up 3 goals to nil, with a while second half left to play. At this point, it was all about rotations and avoiding injury for Barca. But a few more goals certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
Second half
The second half kicked off with more fireworks for Barca.
As they scored two more goals to increase their total and permanently put this match to bed.
Gavi scores
This time it was Gavi who scored, and like his usual temperament on the pitch, the goal was pretty rough and dirty on the surface, but filled with class on the inside.
He simply found a loose ball in Antwerp’s penalty area, before firing a left footed shot into the top corner. It wasn’t pretty by all means, but the goal was scored while being surrounded by bodies and incoming traffic.
Beautiful goal by Gavi.
Felix gets his brace
Felix couldn’t end his night without scoring another goal.
This time, the goal was scored with his head, as he carefully guided a wonderful Raphinha cross past the Antwerp keeper and into the back of the net.
What more else can you say about the guy?
His fit into Barca’s squad has been seamless, something Barca prays continues moving forward as they move into the early-middle portion of their strenuous campaign.
That goal signaled the end of the scoring for Barca.
There were some more chances later on, but they weren’t meant to be. Either way, it was a 5-0 win, the second straight score line of such for Barca, adding to their growing confidence as their new look squad continues to gel and mature.
Final word
Well, that was fun.
Quite literally, that was all Barca could’ve hoped for in their opening Champions League match. Plenty of goals, an abundance of attacking excellence, and timely defending to boot.
The only thing that would’ve made this perfect, is if every Barca chance was converted into a goal. But football is football, so we know that can’t happen, right?
Attention now turns back to La Liga, while also keeping an eye on Barca’s second UCL group stage match, which’ll come away at Porto.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be on Saturday against Celta Vigo. The match will be played at the Montjuic.
See you all then!
