A night of many firsts at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic saw Barcelona emerging triumphant in their home game against Real Betis last night.
There was optimism all around the corner as summer signings Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo both were named in the starting XI. To top off an amazing night, the Portuguese duo ended up scoring a goal each in a sensational 5-0 win.
What prompted next was obvious as Felix was named the player of the game and while speaking after the encounter, the Atletico Madrid loanee expressed how happy he is to play for Barcelona.
“I am very happy to be playing as a starter again. I have had very good feelings, I knew that it is easy to play with this team but I have had very good sensations,” he was quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
“The change has been good for me, I am very happy here and I hope to help the team as much as I can “
Speaking on the first goal
Felix, who opened the scoring in the 25th minute, received an inviting ball in the area from Oriol Romeu and although he missed on his first attempt, he did put the ball in the net from a tight angle. Speaking about the goal, he said,
“Yes, it wasn’t a control, I shot and the defender blocked it. It was a missed shot.”
“We played very well and we were all in the place we had to be. That’s how we created the spaces and the goals came,” he explained.
Connection with Lewandowski
The Portuguese international also played a crucial role in Robert Lewandowski’s goal, about which he said, “I saw the ball and I let it pass. It is important that he scores goals, he is a striker and he lives off of that. The more goals he scores, the better for us.”
“I tried to stay close to Lewandowski so he wouldn’t be isolated in attack. The striker can’t be left alone like that. He talked to me at the start of the match,” he added.
Amidst all the drama surrounding Felix and Cancelo, a certain Ferran Torres got on the scoresheet as well. In fact, the former Manchester City forward scored a fantastic free-kick goal which made it 3-0 for Barcelona.
It must be noted that this was Barcelona’s first free-kick goal since May 2021. “I didn’t know about this bad streak, I found out later when they told me. It could have been anyone since we have “Great pitchers on the roster, but I’m glad it was me,” said Torres.
Cancelo’s idea
The forward revealed that it was Cancelo’s recommendation to attempt the free-kick the way he did.
“Cancelo came and then I thought about it after the fact. I wanted to try to shoot it over the wall but when you are in this state of grace, there are times when you even accidentally mess it up.”
The forward also spoke about his mental strength and how he has been motivating himself this season.
“It [goals] is a motivation to continue working, everything pays off. We are a team that has made a very important qualitative leap, we are more consolidated, and the staff, they are doing a great job.”
“I am very calm and very confident, which is very important in this club. I have worked, I work and I will continue working to remain mentally strong.”
Lastly, he also revealed that although he scored from the free-kick this time, Lewandowski will want to take the next one. “We’ll see, Robert will want to take the next one, but we have great shooters,” he concluded.
