Barcelona need eleven shots to score five, and Elche never get near them

Barcelona's season started fourteen minutes late and then arrived all at once. Raphinha scored from the penalty spot, Karim Adeyemi added a second at 45+3', and the Martínez Valero went in at half-time two down without having done much wrong.

The second half removed the doubt. Raphinha got his second on 67, Fermín López scored on 71 and again on 79, and it finished 5-0.

Eleven shots, seven on target, five goals

This was not a siege. Barcelona had 54% of the ball — not an unusual figure for them — and took 11 shots to Elche's seven. What separated the sides was what happened when they arrived: eight big chances created, seven shots on target, 4.13 expected goals, and a 3.72 xG on target that says the finishing matched the chances.

Elche were not passive. They created three big chances of their own, missed all three, and hit the woodwork once. Their 0.72 expected goals against five conceded is a harsh way to lose a first home game of the season.

Elche's leaky start to the season

Elche have followed the same script in three different matches this season. They opened with 61% of the ball and a 1.41 expected-goals advantage away at Deportivo La Coruña, only for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's early goal to hold up until Marc Aguado equalised on 76 minutes — a 1-1 draw that flattered nobody's defending. At the Martínez Valero it was worse: 46% possession this time, but Barcelona turned eleven shots into five goals. A week after that, at Racing Santander, Elche were back in control of the ball (60%) and completing 481 passes at 87% accuracy, yet fell 3-0 down inside 36 minutes to a Yassir Zabiri hat-trick before two late goals in two minutes arrived too late to matter. Three matchdays in, one pattern repeats: Elche move the ball better than most sides they face and still have one point, three goals scored and nine conceded to show for it.

Raphinha and Fermín López were only getting started

Raphinha's penalty and Fermín López's double at the Martínez Valero turned out to be the opening notes of a much longer run. Raphinha scored again when Athletic Club visited the Camp Nou, added a brace against Rayo Vallecano on matchday 3, and was on the scoresheet once more in the 5-0 win at Valencia — six goals in Barcelona's first four league matches without a single blank. Fermín López's afternoon at Elche was similarly the start of a habit: he found the net again at Valencia, meaning he scored in three of Barcelona's first four matches this season, missing out only in the win over Rayo Vallecano. Karim Adeyemi, whose stoppage-time header made it 2-0 here, did not add to his tally in the matches that followed, but the platform this result gave Barcelona held: four wins from four, 17 goals scored and only two conceded.

Match facts

• 14' — Raphinha (Barcelona), penalty
• 45+3' — Karim Adeyemi (Barcelona)
• 67' — Raphinha (Barcelona)
• 71' — Fermín López (Barcelona)
• 79' — Fermín López (Barcelona)

Where the table stands after matchday 4

In the LaLiga standings after matchday 4, Barcelona sit 1st on 12 points from four wins, with a goal difference of +15 that is the best in the division, and a place inside the Champions League zone (top five). Elche sit 19th on a single point from three games played, with a goal difference of -6 that is the worst defensive record among the four clubs who have played three matches so far, and they remain inside the relegation zone (18th-20th).

What's next

Barcelona begin with three points and a goal difference of five, having played one match fewer than most of the league. Elche have one point from two and now know exactly where the gap is.