Joao Felix scored his debut goal in his first start for Barcelona. Unfortunately, his home team, Atletico Madrid, lost.
Barcelona won 5-0 over Real Betis in the 5th round of the 2023-24 Spanish La Liga season held at Olympic Luis Companis in Barcelona, Spain at 4 a.m. on the 17th (Korean time). With the win on this day, Barcelona went undefeated in the opening five games (4 wins, 1 draw) and took the lead (13 points).
On this day, Barcelona used a 4-3-3 formation. Felix, Lewandowski, and Torres were at the forefront, while De Jong, Romeu, and Gabi formed the midfield. The back four consisted of Balde, Christensen, Kounde, and Cancelo, with Ter Stegen donning the goalkeeper gloves. Betis faced off with Jose, Isco, Perez, Roca, and Bartra.
Felix made his first start since joining Barcelona. It was a somewhat predictable selection. Because Gundogan and Pedri were not in good condition, there was an expectation that Felix would play as a left-sided striker. Having joined Barcelona on loan from Atletico this summer, he made his first start as a substitute against Osasuna before the international break in September.
And he performed positively in this game. Barcelona scored the first goal in the 25th minute of the first half. The main character was Felix. Felix’s first shot, which received a roving pass from Romeu inside the penalty box, was blocked by a defender, but he controlled the ball until the end and attempted a shot again in a situation where there was no angle, hitting the net.
Barcelona, who took the lead, widened the gap thanks to consecutive goals by Lewandowski in the 32nd minute of the first half and Torres in the 17th minute of the second half. When the third goal came, Barcelona left out Felix, Torres, and Romeu and brought in Rafinha, Amya, and Gundogan. Barcelona won 5-0 thanks to additional goals from Rafinha and Cancelo. 소닉카지노
Felix put in one of his best performances on his debut as a starter, scoring his debut goal. Felix left Benfica in the summer of 2019 and joined Atlético. Atletico at the time was looking for a replacement for Antoine Griezmann, and signed Felix, who was performing well in Portugal, for 127 million euros (about 182.9 billion won).
Even until the 2021-22 season, he showed good performance. He consistently got opportunities to play. However, the atmosphere changed in the first half of last season. Felix played in 12 La Liga games before the World Cup break, but only five times as a starter. In a situation where selection and replacement were going back and forth, rumors of discord with coach Diego Simeone were raised.
Accordingly, he went on loan to Chelsea through the January transfer market. Felix added strength to Chelsea’s attack by scoring 4 goals in 16 Premier League (PL) games in the second half of the season. However, Chelsea finished the season with a disappointing 12th place in the league. And in the process of preparing for the season under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, Felix’s loan contract came to an end.
Felix is under contract with Atletico until the summer of 2027. But after his return, his mood is getting closer to a breakup. Felix had to give up his number 7 jersey to Griezmann. He was already classified as an off-field player.
In this situation, Felix claimed in mid-July, “Barcelona has always been my first choice. I want to join Barcelona. It has been my dream since I was a child, and if this comes true, it will literally be a dream come true.” Atlético club was angry. The two sides had a falling out, and in the end, the loan to Barcelona was confirmed as Felix wanted.
Felix, who will be playing on loan from Barcelona until the end of this season, got off to a good start by scoring his debut goal in two games. On the other hand, his home team, Atletico, suffered a disappointing defeat on the same day. Atlético, who had been showing a good trend with 2 wins and 1 draw in 3 games since the opening, suffered a 0-3 loss against Valencia.