Barcelona edge past Feyenoord in Champions League opener
Barcelona and Feyenoord met at Camp Nou on Tuesday evening in the opening League Stage fixture of the Champions League campaign. The hosts came from behind to win 5:1, with Karim Adeyemi and Lamine Yamal among the scorers after an early Feyenoord double. By then the visitors had already registered two goals — Raphael Dias Belloli opening the scoring in the third minute and adding another at the hour — but Barcelona's attacking depth turned the match.
The visitors camped in the final third early on and cut Barcelona open at will. Belloli's opener came after just three minutes, and Adeyemi's response for the hosts at twenty-two minutes did little to settle nerves. Feyenoord's Charles Vanhoutte received a yellow card at twenty-seven minutes as the visitors kept their heads under pressure. And here's the thing — Barcelona's first real chance came through Nacho Ferri, but a VAR review at fifty-nine minutes cancelled his goal.
Barcelona made three changes at sixty-three minutes, bringing on Nacho Ferri, Pedri and Adeyemi in quick succession. The substitutions shifted momentum. Lamine Yamal scored at seventy-seven minutes, and Sem Steijn restored Feyenoord's lead at eighty-two before Gabriel Jesus wrapped up the scoring at eighty-five. To be fair, the visitors had already seen their chances evaporate after the break.
Barcelona dominated possession at 71 per cent and created three big chances from eighteen shots — nine on target. Feyenoord managed only two shots on target from three attempts, with an expected goals tally of 0.52 compared to Barcelona's 1.55. The visitors made more tackles — twenty-five to fourteen — but could not convert pressure into sustained dominance. Barcelona completed 735 passes against 257 for the visitors.
Both sides sit at the bottom of the League Stage table after this first matchday. Barcelona move to one match played, while Feyenoord remain on zero points from one game. The result extends Barcelona's recent scoring form — they have scored fifteen goals in their last five competitive fixtures — and leaves Feyenoord seeking answers after a heavy defeat.
