Karim Adeyemi Shines on Full Debut for Barcelona

Karim Adeyemi needed one start to make his mark.

Handed a full debut by Hansi Flick against Elche, Barcelona’s new forward repaid the trust in the most direct way possible: with a goal before half-time and a performance that crackled with intent.

Signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, the German winger has wasted no time slipping into the rhythm of the La Liga champions. His combinations with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha already carry the ease of a front line that has spent far longer together than a few pre-season sessions.

The new captain set the tone. Raphinha struck first to put Barça in front, then turned provider, sliding the key pass that Adeyemi buried to double the advantage just before the interval. Yamal, drifting into pockets of space and linking play, played his part in the move as well, a bright thread in an attack that looked anything but experimental.

For Flick, reshaping his forward line after a summer of departures and arrivals, this was exactly the kind of early evidence he wanted: a new signing scoring, a new captain leading and creating, and a teenage prodigy knitting it all together.