Barcelona kicked off the defence of their Spanish league title in style, thrashing hosts Elche 5-0. The Catalans gradually tightened their grip on the game, and with Raphinha and the new arrivals shining, they fired a powerful message on the opening day of the season.
From the first whistle, Barcelona attacked. Hansi Flick handed starts to Adami, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Espart, and the visitors soon imposed their rhythm through slick movement and incisive through-balls, above all from Lamine Yamal.
The opener arrived on 14 minutes. Sustained pressure earned Barcelona a penalty after Fermin Lopez won the ball high up the pitch, and Raphinha stepped up to hammer it home, putting the champions in front.
Elche tried to fight their way back but never seriously threatened Barcelona's goal. The visitors kept pressing, then suffered a worrying blow in the 44th minute when Gavi limped off injured, with Pedri replacing him.
Gavi's exit did nothing to slow the champions. They doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha carving open an organised move that ended with Adami controlling the ball and lashing it home with his right foot for his first official Barcelona goal. The half closed with the visitors two up.
After the break, Barcelona looked to kill the tie early. Elche went close to pulling one back through Morente, whose shot rebounded off the post, but the hosts could not take their chance.
On came Olmo and Anthony Gordon, and Barcelona's attack grew sharper still. The pair combined to tee up the third, feeding Raphinha to score his second on 67 minutes and snuff out any hope of an Elche comeback.
Still the Catalan tide rolled on. Minutes later Gordon found himself clean through, yet he chose to square it to Fermin Lopez, who buried the fourth in the 71st minute to stamp his mark on Barcelona's big night.
Fermin rounded off the five-goal rout on 80 minutes. He controlled the ball cleverly inside the box before unleashing a strike that all but ended the contest and confirmed the Catalans' crushing superiority.
This emphatic win fired an early warning to Barcelona's rivals. Raphinha dazzled, the new arrivals left their mark, and the champions now turn to hosting Athletic Bilbao in the next round as they chase a perfect start.