There are players who start off on the right foot at Camp Nou. This is the case with Anthony Gordon. And he was a player who arrived under suspicion after the sporting management spent 70 million, plus 10 in variables, on a player who was considered a star. Against Athletic, in Barcelona’s home debut, the crowd chanted his name. A scene that was repeated in the thrashing of Rayo Vallecano. The Englishman forced the third goal — an own goal by Lejeune — and assisted Raphinha in the fourth. “Gordon has a lot of speed, today he gave two assists. We have a lot of speed in this position with Adeyemi and Lamine,” highlighted Hansi Flick.
From the ovation for Gordon, the Barcelona fans turned to praise Raphinha. With Gabriel Jesus watching from the stands, number 11 scored his fifth goal of the season against Rayo. “For me Gabriel Jesus is a top striker. I am very happy that he is here. He can give us many things. We do not expect more signings,” Flick stated. And he looked at Raphinha: “Of course I expected this performance from Raphinha, he is an incredible player. Being captain is very positive for him and what the team needs. The important thing is how we play as a team, but we have to improve in some situations.” Along the same lines, Marc Bernal explained: “Raphinha is a reference because he helps us all a lot. Especially the young players. He is approachable and that is what we want, a captain like that.”
Joy for Raphinha, also for Lamine Yamal. He found no better way to erase bitterness than to enter history. At 19 years and 49 days, Barcelona’s number 10 became the youngest player to score 50 official goals in Spanish club football. He surpasses Raúl González, who reached fifty with Real Madrid at 19 years and 249 days, and Fernando Torres, who achieved it with Atlético at 20 years and 221 days. He also breaks a record that had stood since 1935: that of Josep Escolà, who scored his 50th goal with Barça at 20 years and 356 days. Not even Messi, who reached that figure at 21 years and 120 days against Basel, was so precocious. Lamine, once again, rewrites the books ahead of time.
“Lamine always wants to improve, I am very happy with him. Today how he played football is incredible,” said Flick. And Bernal concluded: “Lamine hasn’t been able to score in recent matches, but he has shown his quality throughout his career. Today he scored and we are happy for him.”
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