Raphinha brace as Barca hit five again, Demirovic Stuttgart hat-trick
· Yahoo Sports
Raphinha scored a brace as contenders Barcelona started the Champions League with an emphatic 5-1 triumph over Feyenoord while Ermedin Demirović recorded a hat-trick in VfB Stuttgart's 3-1 against debutants Viking Stavanger.
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Barca led after three minutes when Raphinha took up a pass from Lamine Yamal, let two defenders slide past him on the wet Nou Camp pitch and calmly slotted home into the far corner.
It was 2-0 in the 22nd from a stunner into the top right corner by new forward Karim Adeyemi.
The third came in the 57th when Raphinha converted a defence-splitting pass from Pedri for his eighth goal of the season. Young star Lamine Yamal fired a free-kick right through the wall of the Dutch visitors in the 77th for 4-0.
Sem Steijn got a consolation goal in the 82nd after which former Arsenal player Gabriel Jesus came on for Barca and provided the final score with a glancing header in the 85th.
The Spanish champions continued their strong early season form, having also won their first four LaLiga matches, scoring five goals each in three of them and 17 overall.
Coach Hansi Flick said on Tuesday that his team had the quality to lift the Champions League trophy. Barca have won the elite event five times, but the last success dates back to 2015.
In Stuttgart, all goals came within a span of 13 minutes between the 20th and 32nd minute.
Demirović scored his first two goals in off the underside of the crossbar before volleying the third to complete his hat-trick. Zlatko Tripic got a temporary 1-1 equalizer for the Norwegian champions Stavanger on the counter.
The four late fixtures are defending champions Paris Saint-Germain v Slovan Bratislava, Napoli v last season's finalists Arsenal, Liverpool v Atlético Madrid and Sporting v Galatasaray.
The first matchday is spread over three days and runs until Thursday, when, among other games, six-time winners Bayern Munich play last year's surprise team Bodø/Glimt and ex-champions Manchester United face newcomers Sabah of Azerbaijan.