Barcelona, 10 September (H.S.): Barcelona made a commanding start to their Champions League campaign on Wednesday, cruising to a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord, with Raphinha scoring twice. Alongside Raphinha’s brace, Barcelona’s goals came from Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and substitute Gabriel Jesus, while Sem Steijn scored Feyenoord’s only goal.

Barcelona took the lead as early as the third minute. Operating as the central striker following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, Raphinha brilliantly evaded two defenders inside the penalty area before finishing emphatically. The goal took his tally to eight in five appearances this season.

Barcelona doubled their advantage soon afterwards. Karim Adeyemi unleashed a superb long-range effort from outside the penalty area, sending the ball beyond the reach of Feyenoord goalkeeper Tjark Ernst and into the back of the net.

Feyenoord attempted to respond, with Anis Hadj Moussa forcing Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia into a save at his near post. However, Barcelona continued to dominate proceedings. Joao Cancelo created an opening after getting past Givairo Read, but his effort struck the outside of the post and went wide.

Raphinha scored his second goal shortly after the restart. Running onto a superb through ball from Pedri, he raced forward before rounding Ernst and calmly slotting the ball into the net. Feyenoord immediately appeared to pull one back through Nacho Ferri, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Barcelona continued to apply relentless pressure. Fermin Lopez forced another save from Ernst before Lamine Yamal produced a moment of brilliance from a free-kick to make it 4-0. His superb strike curled over the wall and went directly into the goal.

Feyenoord reduced the deficit through Sem Steijn. Steijn converted a low cross from Goncalo Borges to give the Dutch side a consolation goal. Barcelona, however, had the final say. Substitute Gabriel Jesus marked his debut goal for the club with a superb header from Yamal’s cross. The Brazilian joined Barcelona from Arsenal during the summer.

With the emphatic victory, Hansi Flick’s side maintained their perfect start to the season. Barcelona have now won all five of their matches across all competitions, scoring five goals in four of those victories.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar