BARCELONA – Barcelona captain Raphinha scored twice as his side thrashed Feyenoord 5-1 in their opening Champions League fixture on Wednesday, while Ermedin Demirovic struck a 12-minute first-half hat-trick to give VfB Stuttgart a 3-1 victory over Viking Stavanger.
Barcelona made a flying start in torrential rain in the Catalan capital, as Raphinha left two defenders sprawling before finishing with a left-footed flourish in the third minute.
Karim Adeyemi put Barca 2-0 ahead with a curling effort in the 22nd minute and Raphinha grabbed his second from a defence-splitting pass by Pedri in the 57th minute.
Lamine Yamal added the fourth in the 77th minute, firing a free kick through a gap in the Feyenoord wall from the edge of the box.
Feyenoord’s consolation goal came in the 82nd minute as Sem Steijn sneaked in behind the defence to score, but Gabriel Jesus came on and netted with his first touch, glancing a header backwards into the net.
In Stuttgart, Demirovic opened the scoring after 20 minutes with a touch at the near post, but Viking, making their first appearance in the Champions League group phase, were level two minutes later when Zlatko Tripic finished a swift counter-attack with his left foot.
Demirovic quickly re-established the lead in the 26th minute and then completed the hat-trick with a hooked volley six minutes later.
Later on Wednesday, holders Paris St Germain begin the defence of their title against Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia while last season’s runners-up Arsenal are at Napoli.
Liverpool host Atletico Madrid while Galatasaray visit Portuguese side Sporting.
