When he was on loan at Chelsea, he never did this. Joao Felix scored twice as Barcelona defeated Royal Antwerp 5-0. His performance was outstanding.
The pouty player Diego Simeone benched all summer long as he waited for his agent Jorge Mendes to find him a new team is no longer there. And the unimpressive forward who struggled at Stamford Bridge is nowhere to be found.
Instead, Barcelona, who has won both of its games since he joined the club 10-0 overall, appears to have acquired a player who is capable of taking the squad forward and providing the quality and maverick showmanship that may have been lacking ever since Lionel Messi left.
In his 70 minutes on the field, he scored twice. The opening goal was scored after 11 minutes, following a pass exchange between Gavi, Robert Lewandowski, and Ilkay Gundogan at the edge of the box. Felix received the ball and from just inside the penalty area, he fired a right-foot shot that went past Toby Alderweireld’s legs and into Jean Butez’s near post to score it 1-0.Within 20 minutes, there were two, with Felix this time serving as the originator despite Frenkie de Jong serving as lead architect. The loanee was sent down the left channel by the Dutchman’s pass. He spun and twisted before picking out Lewandowski, who scored at the back post with a side-foot volley. His 100th goal in 139 European club matches. Two minutes later, with only two shots on goal, things only got worse for Mark van Bommel’s club as they found themselves 3-0 down. Raphinha crossed the ball from the right, and Jelle Bataille’s deflection allowed the ball to get by Butez.
Just before halftime, Arbnor Muja handed Marc-Andre ter Stegen a shot to block, but Barcelona was in command at 3-0. Royal Antwerp had previously only competed in the previous European Cup, hence this was their first Champions League match. It was Barça’s 20th consecutive season, but they had never played in the Lluis Companys Stadium. The home squad was doing much better than the visiting team.Joao Cancelo usually assisted De Jong in holding down the middle of the field while Gundogan and Gavi moved up to support the front three. When the fourth was put in, the last three were all involved. In order to complete a play that Cancelo had begun, Gavi slammed it past Butez. Like his fellow countryman, he is off to a great start.
Felix, though, is the star of the show. Felix scored three goals in two games with a back post header off a cross from Raphinha. Having snuck up on Lewandowski, he finished ahead of Butez. It was his final touch before Lamine Yamal, who is 16 years old, replaced him and became Barcelona’s youngest-ever player in the Champions League, received a standing ovation from the crowd. With Lewandowski’s help, he came close to scoring, but his shot just missed the post.
Lewandowski had other opportunities, and he ought to have added at least one more goal. There won’t be many complaints, though. The magic has been restored to Xavi’s team by Barcelona’s new Merlin.