Adeyemi’s Barcelona bow brings landmark La Liga moment

Karim Adeyemi scored on his Barcelona debut to become only the fifth German player to find the net in his first La Liga appearance.

The forward struck in the third minute of first-half injury time during Barcelona’s match against Elche at the Manuel Martinez Valero on Sunday evening.

Adeyemi received a precise pass from Raphinha and raced through on goal before calmly finishing from inside the penalty area. His effort gave Barcelona their second goal of the match.

The goal also placed Adeyemi in a select group of German players who have scored in their opening La Liga fixture. According to the statistics account Mister Chip, only five Germans have achieved the feat in the competition’s history.

Mister Chip listed the players as: “The only five German players who scored in their first match in La Liga history: 1929: Walter Bockhard (Barcelona), 1992: Andreas Brehme (Real Zaragoza), 1996: Oliver Neuville (Tenerife), 2025: Jeremy Toljan (Levante), 2026: Karim Adeyemi (Barcelona).”

Adeyemi’s achievement came at the beginning of his Barcelona career, following his move from Borussia Dortmund during the current summer transfer window.

The German has signed a contract with the Catalan club running until 2031. His arrival is intended to strengthen Barcelona’s attacking options for the coming period.

The timing of his goal made the moment particularly significant. With the first half approaching its conclusion, Adeyemi reacted quickly to Raphinha’s pass, created space inside the penalty area and completed the move with a finish that immediately placed his name alongside some notable German predecessors in the Spanish top flight.

Walter Bockhard was the first German player included in the list, scoring for Barcelona in 1929. Andreas Brehme followed with Real Zaragoza in 1992, before Oliver Neuville achieved the same feat for Tenerife in 1996. Jeremy Toljan became the fourth player on the list in 2025 with Levante.

Adeyemi is now the latest addition, and the second player to do so for Barcelona after Bockhard.

The match was played in the second round of La Liga at Elche’s Manuel Martinez Valero stadium. Adeyemi’s goal followed a flowing Barcelona attack, with Raphinha supplying the final pass before the new signing finished the move.

The strike was also highlighted in a post-match social media clip showing Adeyemi adding Barcelona’s second goal after “a wonderful pass from Raphinha”. Fans were invited to discuss the story and other football news in the Kooora forums.