Barcelona put five past Royal Antwerp to kick off Group H in style thanks to a Man of the Match performance from new signing Joao Felix at the Camp Nou.
Felix connected with Ilkay Gundogan for the opener after 11 minutes, before the Portuguese youngster set up Robert Lewandowski to double Barcelona’s lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
Jelle Bataille scored an own goal for the visitors shortly after before Gavi bagged his first Champions League goal at the age of 19 to give the hosts a comfortable lead and relax after 54 minutes.
Felix scored his third goal for the club before being substituted off approaching the last quarter of the game, playing a huge part in an impressive start by the Catalans.
Lewandowski is now the oldest player to score for the club in the Champions League, surpassing former captain Gerard Pique at 35-years-old.
On the other end of the spectrum, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal’s appearance made him Barcelona’s youngest ever player in the competition and its second youngest of all-time.
Barcelona Champions League Odds
To win the competition:
- Manchester City @ 2/1
- Bayern Munich @ 11/2
- Real Madrid @ 8/1
- Arsenal @ 10/1
- PSG @ 12/1
- Barcelona @ 14/1
- Manchester United @ 20/1
- Inter Milan @ 20/1
- Newcastle @ 25/1
RELATED: 16-Year-Old Barcelona Winger Lamine Yamal Enters The Frame To Win Golden Boy
Gavi bags his first #UCL goal! 🤩
A huge future lies ahead for the 19-year-old! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3v9JDuT2Og
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 19, 2023
Barcelona have reached the semi-finals once in the last eight seasons, with their most recent triumph in the competition coming in 2015 against Juventus and holding five titles – the fourth-most in history behind Real Madrid (14), AC Milan (7), Liverpool (6) and Bayern Munich (6).
According to Champions League betting sites, Xavi’s side are the sixth-favourites to win what would be a sixth title in the 2024 final at Wembley, where they beat Manchester United to win it in 2012.
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