5-1! Barcelona Win Fifth Straight Match and Score 22 Goals, Making a Strong Champions League Start

After scoring 22 goals in just five matches at the start of the new season, is Barcelona's attacking firepower making opponents look helpless? They scored 17 goals in four La Liga games and beat Feyenoord 5-1 in the Champions League opener. While many people are already saying the 'double is guaranteed,' I think this Barcelona team without a traditional center forward has left many observers surprised.

In the 3rd minute, Yamal played the ball across and Raphinha cut past two defenders before finishing to make it 1-0, sending Camp Nou into celebration. In the 22nd minute, Cancelo created an opportunity from the left and Adeyemi curled in a spectacular long-range shot from the edge of the box to make it 2-0. At halftime, Barcelona had 72% possession and nine shots on target compared with Feyenoord's two, while the visitors could not create a meaningful response.

After the restart, Pedri played a through ball in the 57th minute and Raphinha scored again in a one-on-one situation to make it 3-0 and put the game away. In the 59th minute, Feyenoord thought they had scored through Fer but VAR ruled it offside. In the 77th minute, Yamal scored directly from a free kick into the near corner, and after 4-0 the opponents had completely collapsed.

In the 82nd minute, Steijn pulled one back with a shot at the far post, meaning Feyenoord finally avoided a scoreless night. In the 85th minute, Yamal crossed from the right and substitute Jesus scored with a backward header to make it 5-1, also scoring his first goal. Barcelona finished with a 4-1 corner-kick advantage and 60 dangerous attacks to Feyenoord's 30, overwhelming the third-placed Eredivisie side.

Barcelona won all of their first four La Liga matches, beating Elche 5-0, Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Rayo Vallecano 5-2 and Valencia 5-0, scoring 17 goals and conceding only two. Raphinha leads the scoring chart with six goals in four matches, while Yamal and Fermin each have four, with the trio responsible for 14 league goals. With this attacking distribution, saying Barcelona rely on one player producing a huge performance shows a failure to look at the schedule.

The club's historical statistics from the same period are even more remarkable. Their 17 goals in the first four rounds are tied for third-best in club history, behind only the 21 goals in 1950/51 and 19 goals in 1949/50. Their +15 goal difference is the best in the same period, surpassing the +14 recorded by the 1957/58 Barcelona side. Flick did not sign a center forward, instead using Raphinha as a false nine dropping deeper, Yamal in the right half-space and Adeyemi on the left to turn the strikerless approach into a high-speed attacking style.

Adeyemi has been the biggest surprise in this period. After arriving from Dortmund in the summer, he recorded one goal and one assist in his first four La Liga matches and scored a long-range effort in the Champions League in the 22nd minute. Data from Nano shows he had one shot on target and one goal in 63 Champions League starting minutes, while all three of his shots on target in four La Liga matches found the frame. A wide attacking player with explosive ability and spectacular shooting qualities can be more practical than many expensive center forwards.

Yamal has been even more remarkable. After assisting Raphinha in the 3rd minute, he reached 21 Champions League goal involvements, including 11 goals and 10 assists. Among U20 players, he surpassed Mbappe's previous record of 20 goal involvements. He also recorded one goal, two assists, 12 attempted dribbles and seven successful dribbles in this match. At 19 years old, he has already become a major example among young Champions League players, making him extremely difficult to contain defensively.

Feyenoord were not an easy opponent. They had three wins and two draws in their first five Eredivisie matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding seven, with Zechiël contributing four goals and three assists and Valente scoring three goals. Van Bronckhorst played for Barcelona from 2003 to 2007 and won the 2005/06 Champions League. Returning to Camp Nou as the manager of his former club, he said before the match that they were 'not afraid.' However, defenders such as Beelen, Bos and Smal were unavailable or affected by injuries, leaving Watanabe and Hancko to hold the line as Barcelona's combination play between the wings and center overwhelmed them.

Feyenoord were expected to defend compactly and transition quickly, with Zechiël receiving long passes centrally and Valente attacking down the left to target space behind Kounde. The disallowed goal in the 59th minute and Steijn's goal in the 82nd minute showed they did have speed, but they could not withstand Barcelona's sustained high pressing. With only 28% possession, the visitors' attempt to take control at Camp Nou was almost impossible.

Flick's 4-2-3-1/strikerless variation is highly effective. Rodri and Pedri provide the central passing axis, Cancelo moves inside and Kounde pushes wider. The front line does not rely on a fixed center forward: false nine Raphinha pulls center backs away, Yamal cuts inside from the right half-space, and Gordon/Adeyemi switch positions on the wings. The pressure starts from the goalkeeper's build-up phase, and Feyenoord's defensive build-up was broken in the 3rd minute, directly leading to Raphinha's first goal.

There are also defensive concerns. Steijn scored in the 82nd minute, Barcelona recorded only one official save in the entire match, and Joan Garcia had little to do for most of the game. With a high defensive line and advancing full-backs, teams such as Inter and Atletico Madrid that specialize in counterattacks could find more space behind the defense than Feyenoord did. Those calling for a double should first look at Barcelona's clean-sheet record in Champions League knockout rounds.

Barcelona also have the historical advantage in this matchup. In the second round of the 1974/75 European Cup, the first leg ended 0-0 and Barcelona won the return leg at home 3-0 against Feyenoord. Van Bronckhorst returned to Camp Nou as an away manager, creating an emotional storyline, but his tactics were contained by his former club. His familiarity with possession football may have also helped him understand where to defend. Feyenoord's recent European away record is two draws and nine defeats in their last 11 matches, and that record mattered at Camp Nou regardless of their confidence before the game.

Five straight wins, 22 goals, Raphinha's eight goals in five matches, Yamal's U20 record and Adeyemi scoring in both competitions make for a remarkable set of numbers, even among Europe's top leagues. However, the Champions League is only in its first round and La Liga only has four rounds completed. Against teams such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, the stamina of the false nine system and the recovery work of the full-backs will be the real tests. Focusing only on how strong the team looks now, rather than how long it can maintain this level, is the more sensible way to watch the season unfold.