Barcelona unveils starting XI for season opener against Elche
Barcelona named its lineup for the La Liga title-defence match at Elche, featuring new signing Anthony Gordon up front and several academy graduates.
Barcelona set out to defend their La Liga titles with a trip to Elche, hoping to secure a third straight championship for the first time since the Guardiola era. The departure of Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain and Robert Lewandowski to the Chicago Fire left the club without a natural striker, prompting Xavi Flick to field summer recruit Anthony Gordon alongside wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. Central attacking midfield is occupied by Fermin Lopez, ahead of World Cup winners Gavi and Dani Olmo.
The midfield also showcases La Masia graduates Xavi Espart and Marc Bernal, though Pau Cubarsi remains unavailable. At the back, Gerard Martin and Andreas Christensen partner at centre-back with Eric Garcia at right-back, while left-back Jordi Pesquer steps in after Alejandro Balde was omitted from the squad.
Why it matters
The lineup reveals how Barcelona will cope with key departures and integrate youth as they chase a historic third-in-a-row league title.
How this story developed
- Aug 12 Jeff Bezos-linked consortium eyes £1.35 billion minority stake in Liverpool
- Aug 14 Bezos’s investment vehicle K5 Sports acquired a minority stake in Liverpool FC.
- Aug 15 The consortium acquired a stake exceeding 30% of Liverpool FC, valuing the club at about $6 billion.
- Aug 22 The deal now specifies a valuation of $7.4 billion and a stake size of up to 38%.
In this story
Related stories
17 in this thread