Barcelona began their La Liga title defence with a 5-0 win over Elche, with Anthony Gordon providing two assists in six minutes and Raphinha scoring twice.

Barcelona opened their defence of the La Liga title in emphatic fashion by beating Elche 5-0 in the second round of the competition.

Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both scored twice, while Karim Adeyemi completed the scoring as Barcelona claimed their first three points of the campaign.

Raphinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 15th minute after earning the spot-kick with an impressive individual run. It was the ninth penalty he has taken for Barcelona in all competitions, and he has scored all nine.

Barcelona had begun brightly, with Lamine Yamal going close to breaking the deadlock in the sixth minute. The forward was presented with a clear one-on-one opportunity but lifted his effort over the Elche goal.

Elche threatened to equalise before half-time when striker Fier Ninetto tested Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia with a shot in the 26th minute. Garcia made the save to preserve Barcelona’s clean sheet.

Barcelona doubled their advantage deep into first-half injury time. Raphinha delivered an excellent pass to Adeyemi, who finished to score his first goal for the club and make it 2-0 in the 45th minute plus three.

Adeyemi almost added another in the 63rd minute after running past and dribbling around Elche defenders before shooting, but the home goalkeeper kept out his effort.

Gordon made his Barcelona debut after being introduced as a substitute and quickly influenced the match. Within moments of coming on, he supplied Raphinha, who found the net in the 68th minute for his second goal of the game and Barcelona’s third.

The England forward then created another goal six minutes after his introduction. His pass found Fermin Lopez with the goal unguarded, allowing the midfielder to score Barcelona’s fourth.

Gordon therefore produced two assists during his first six minutes on the pitch for Barcelona.

Lopez completed the rout in the 80th minute after a piece of individual skill. He dribbled past an Elche defender before finishing to score Barcelona’s fifth goal.

Raphinha led the Barcelona attack alongside Yamal and new signing Adeyemi. Egypt international Hamza Abdelkarim was included in the squad but did not feature.

The result gives Barcelona their first league victory of the season and provides an emphatic start to their attempt to retain the La Liga title.

Barcelona’s next fixture is against Athletic Club at Camp Nou on Thursday. The match is a rearranged fixture from the opening round of the league season.