Anthony Gordon started from the bench in Barcelona's 5-0 win at Elche in their opening match of the 2026-27 La Liga season, but he made an immediate impact after replacing Lamine Yamal in the 65th minute.
Barcelona were already 2-0 ahead when Gordon entered the match, but it did not take long for Gordon to help change that.
The former Newcastle United winger teed up Raphinha in the 67th minute for Barcelona's third goal of the match with a clever pass into Elche's box, setting up an easy tap-in for the Brazilian.
Just four minutes later, Gordon was played through on goal by a brilliantly weighted pass from Pedri inside of Barcelona's half and Gordon unselfishly laid it off to Fermín Lopez to make it 4-0 to the Catalans.
Gordon could have gone for goal himself but instead unselfishly squared the ball for Fermin, who had a clearer sight of goal.
Anthony Gordon Makes La Liga History With Two Assists on His Debut
With his brace of assists, Gordon became the first ever player to record a pair of assists on his La Liga debut and it took him a matter of only six minutes.
No other player in this century since data has been collected minute by minute in football matches has done this.
Although the performance came against Elche, Gordon’s impact gave an early indication of what he could offer Barcelona from the bench or as a starter.
With strong competition for attacking places, including Yamal, Raphinha, Adeyemi and Dani Olmo, Gordon may not immediately become an automatic starter.
Anthony Gordon Reflects on ‘Perfect Start’ to Barcelona Career
Speaking after the 5-0 routing of Elche, Gordon reflected on his official competitive debut with Barcelona and expressed how good he's feeling with life at his new club.
"It was the perfect start. Five goals scored, no goals conceded. I'm very happy and thought we played some lovely football, scored some great goals and, more importantly, I thought the defenders made some excellent last-minute challenges and blocks, so overall extremely good," Gordon enthused.
"I feel so good. I feel so good since I've arrived. I said in the interview then that the guys have made me feel so welcome.
"I feel at home already; the city is amazing, the people are so friendly and I think I will get better and better the longer I'm here," the former Newcastle and Everton winger continued.
With Flick's starting eleven selection for the Elche match, given that Yamal is always going to be a sure-fire starter for Barcelona, Adeyemi essentially started ahead of Gordon, but the latter has nothing but respect for his fellow winger despite the competition for minutes.
"It's always about the team first, especially with this club, but big congratulations to Karim because he put in a great performance. He got his first goal, he worked really hard in some defensive transitions, so I'm really happy for him," Gordon stressed.
