Lewandowski scored five goals in four games, Rafinha scored the first Barcelona goal, and Kaundé made two assists.
Lewandowski scored five goals in four games, Rafinha scored the first Barcelona goal, and Kaundé made two assists.
Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha and Jules Condé showed why Barcelona pawned off part of their future in the Spanish league by scoring goals in a 3-0 win over Sevilla.
Lewandowski scored five goals in four appearances since moving from Bayern Munich, former Leeds winger Rafinha scored his first for Barcelona, and Kaundé made two assists to secure his third consecutive win against his former club.
Barcelona climbed to second place, two points behind Real Madrid, which made a perfect start to Real Betis’ league after beating another club from Seville 2-1 in the Spanish capital.
Barcelona changed the momentum in the 18th minute when Gavi Paez hit a counterattack to Usman Dembele. The forward, a constant threat to Sevilla, played clear to chip Lewandowski on goalkeeper Yasin Baunou. Fernando clears it from his line but Rafinha collapses on his way home.
Lewandowski, who only failed to score on his debut, doubled the lead by controlling a long ball from Conde to his chest, and without letting it touch the ground, passed Baunu with his right foot. .
Eric Garcia added a third goal in the 51st when Condé generously led a cross by Rafinha to tap his fellow defender.
Only Baunau prevented Lewandowski from recording a third consecutive brace.
All told, this is why manager Xavi Hernández urged Barcelona president Joan Laporta to do whatever it takes to give him the talent to renew a team whose decline was due to the departure of Lionel Messi last year. had accelerated.
Heavily indebted, Barcelona sold part of their future television rights and other assets to sign the trio for €160 million.
Xavi praised 18-year-old Gavi for his handling in midfield and Lewandowski.
“It is not just the goal, but how he wins the high balls; He is a wonderful outlet. And how he controls our pressure to fix the ball. He is a brilliant player with his sense of timing,” Xavi said of the Poland striker.
“He is helping us a lot with his leadership, with the things you don’t see when you watch the game, how he helps the staff and his teammates. It’s amazing to have him in the team.”
Sevilla, who finished fourth last season, were denied victory with one draw and three losses. Julen Lopetegui’s team will face Manchester City in the opening round of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Madrid’s Brazilians prove the difference
Brazil’s young forwards Vinicius Junior and Rodrigo proved the difference for Madrid again in the top two teams meeting earlier in the month.
Madrid registered four wins in the same number of matches, while Betis finished third, three points behind.
Carlo Ancelotti moved to third place on the list of Madrid coaches with the most career wins. With 133 wins, he is only behind Miguel Muoz (357) and Zinedine Zidane (172).
Before kickoff, Madrid players presented their fans with the Champions League trophy and the recently won UEFA Super Cup in their first home game of the season. The club played the first three rounds on the road as it continued renovation work at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Betis had not lost in Madrid in five seasons, winning two and drawing three while not conceding a goal at the powerhouse. But that drought broke after just nine minutes.
Madrid begin their European title defense against Celtic in Glasgow on Tuesday.
Scoring debut for Sociedad’s Umro
Sadiq Umar scored five minutes into his debut for Real Sociedad as Atletico Madrid drew 1-1.
Sadiq went at halftime and soon showed his skill in the area when he was head-jumped from his marker in a cross by fellow newcomer Mohamed-Ali Cho. Sadiq nearly scored another goal but it was waived offside.
अलlvaro Morata opened the scoring early when he pushed into a rebound from the post with a corner kick by Yannick Carrasco. It was his third goal since returning from loan for a season at Juventus.
Sociedad paid Almeria a club record 20 million euros ($19.9 million) for Sadiq to replace Alexander Isaacs, who joined Newcastle on record sales for Sociedad for 70 million euros ($69 million). Were.
Atletico lost goalkeeper Jan Oblak to a knock in the final minutes.
Elsewhere, Girona’s Samuel Sainz converted a penalty in a 1-1 draw at stoppage time in Mallorca.