The Atletico Madrid loanee scored one and set up another in Saturday’s 5-0 win as Xavi’s side ran riot in Catalunya
Joao Felix scored one, proved instrumental in another, and dictated play for most of his 64 minutes on the pitch as Barcelona battered Real Betis 5-0 on Saturday. The Portugal international, making his full debut, quelled any fears about his fit in this Barca side, providing the cutting edge his team needed in a thrashing.
Felix opened the scoring in fine fashion, latching onto Oriol Romeu’s diagonal ball before evading the goalkeeper and finishing from a tight angle. His movement influenced the second, as the new signing dummied Andreas Christensen’s pass, which fell into Robert Lewandowski’s path — who buried his effort.
But Barca were never quite comfortable in the first half. The occasional wayward pass or miscalculated run left them vulnerable at the back, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen made an important stop to retain a 2-0 lead at the break.
The Blaugrana settled fully after the break, however. Ferran Torres, handed his first start of the season, grabbed the third, curling a free-kick into the bottom corner. Raphinha came off the bench to bag the fourth, finding the same spot with a lashed effort from outside the box. Joao Cancelo got in on the action shortly before full-time, shimmying around his marker before firing across the goalkeeper for his first Barca goal.
Betis offered admittedly little as the game wore on, but with Felix at the centre of it all, this Barcelona team showed how dangerous they can be.
