Barça overwhelms Antwerp on another great night for Joao Félix
Antwerp had to relive cruel echoes of the past in its debut in the group stage of the Champions League. As much as he initially tried to be the protagonist, remembering the best moments of his double victory against AEK in the qualifying phase, Barcelona forced him to put his feet back on the ground in the most forceful way possible. The final 5-0 with which Xavi's team spoiled the Belgian team's party, perhaps, brought back memories of their only participation in the top European competition so far, in the 1957-58 season, when Real Madrid knocked them out of bad way in the round of 16, beating them in Belgium by 1-2 and finishing the job at home with a devastating 6-0. Joao Félix, with two goals and an assist, was once again one of the standouts in a match in which Lewandowski, Bataille, with an own goal, and Gavi also scored.. [5-0: Narration and statistics]
Barça started the duel somewhat lethargic and Antwerp wanted to take advantage of it to take the initiative. Even though the Blaugrana made the first serious approach to the rival area, it was the Belgians who had the most possession and completed the most passes.. Until Xavi's men suddenly woke up. Joao Félix, precisely, was in charge of pouring the first bucket of cold water on his rivals after picking up a great pass from Gündogan and sending the ball far out of reach of the visiting goalkeeper in what, to tell the truth, was the first shot on goal of the meeting. And his second consecutive goal for Barça.
The Portuguese, in fact, would once again have a lot of prominence in the 2-0 action, just eight minutes after opening the scoring. A great diagonal from De Jong helped him get into the area first and then assist Lewandowski so that the Pole could score his fourth goal in a row so far this season.. And it wouldn't take long for Barça to give what already seemed like a cruel blow to Antwerp.. Bad luck struck the Belgians when the cross that Raphinha was looking for was poisoned when it hit Bataille's back and ended up in the back of the net to make it 3-0 on the scoreboard.
Joao Felix. EFE
After both teams went through the locker room at half-time, Antwerp seemed to jump back onto the field ready to at least close the gap a little.. However, it would be Barça who would punish the rival net again very soon.. Gavi, with a powerful shot from just inside the Belgians' area, would seal the 4-0 score before the first ten minutes of the restart were played.. The win caused Van Bommel's team to place their lines closer to their goalkeeper. Rather than thinking about getting something positive, the idea had become about finding the best way to avoid suffering more damage.
The clarity of the result also meant that Xavi did not take too long to make his first changes, which he would also take advantage of to promote the debut in the Champions League of Fermín López, who was one of the great sensations of the preseason.. Precisely, as Gavi's relief. The attitude of taking a step back, however, would end up costing Antwerp dearly.. Joao Félix, with a header after a good cross from Raphinha, put his hand on the scoreboard with his second goal of the evening. The Barcelona fans, in the final stretch, still had some more opportunities to make the distances even wider, but the scoreboard did not move again in what was another great night for the Blaugrana in Montjuïc.