Gordon strikes after 78 seconds as Barcelona thrash Getafe 3-0 to make it eight wins from eight
Barcelona's perfect start to the 2026-27 La Liga season rolled on on Saturday evening, as Anthony Gordon's first goal for the club set the reigning Spanish champions on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Getafe at Camp Nou — an eighth straight league win from the opening eight matches of the campaign.
Gordon opens his account inside two minutes
Gordon had impressed for England with a host of goals during the extended international break, having failed to hit the net in LaLiga for Barcelona before it. He did not take long to change that: with just 78 seconds on the clock, the summer arrival received the ball at the edge of the box, danced his way inside from the left flank, skipped through a series of challenges and fired a deflected low shot under Getafe goalkeeper David Soria and into the net.
The strike carried historic weight on several fronts. As statisticians Opta noted: "Anthony Gordon has become the tenth English player to score in La Liga in the 21st century. It is the earliest goal scored by any player in the competition this season (78 seconds)." It is also the earliest goal by an English player in the competition at any point in the 21st century.
Gordon almost turned provider 12 minutes later, cutting inside from the left to bend a lovely cross into the box, though Dani Olmo's glancing touch sent it wide, and Gavi saw a glancing header saved by Soria as the hosts pressed their early advantage.
Jesus punishes Romero as Getafe park the bus
Getafe — who arrived having scored just four goals in their first seven league games, as previewed — refused to change their plan after conceding early and sat very deep to avoid further damage, but Barcelona could afford to be patient. The Catalans had over 80% possession throughout the first half and doubled their lead on the half-hour mark when Zaid Romero was caught on the ball in his own box; Gabriel Jesus pounced on the loose ball and slotted a fine finish into the bottom-left corner.
Barça should have been further ahead by the break. Rodri floated a cross to Jules Koundé, who had beaten the offside trap to stand completely free on the edge of the six-yard box, but the defender dawdled over the shot and made things easy for Soria.
The hosts came out a little flat after the restart, and Getafe's best moment was a long-range effort from Johan Mojica that hit the side netting, but the visitors' brief momentum quickly dissipated against a Barça side happy to conserve energy for the games ahead. Gordon could have had a second shortly after the break, racing onto Lamine Yamal's throughball only for Soria to rush to the edge of his box and smother the chance, and Yamal himself curled a late volley narrowly wide of the far post.
The third goal arrived in the 73rd minute, when a short corner routine caught Getafe out once again. Yamal whipped in a right-sided delivery and Koundé ghosted in behind to tuck home a half-volley — his second big chance of the night and, having drawn a blank in his first four league appearances of the season, his first LaLiga goal of the campaign.
History-making leaders
The win equalled Barcelona's best start to a LaLiga season — they also won each of their first eight under Gerardo Martino in 2013-14 — and Hansi Flick's side have been a force to be reckoned with, netting 34 goals across those eight victories and scoring at least three in all but one of their matches so far. The leaders also stayed five points clear at the top of the table.
Gabriel Jesus, who led the line with Raphinha absent — Roony Bardghji and Frenkie de Jong were also unavailable, as flagged in the pre-match build-up — now has three goals in five matches for Barcelona across all competitions, having scored with each of his three shots on target. Yamal, who came into the evening with seven goals and four assists from seven league appearances this season, for once ended the night without adding to his tally.
It was the ideal way to open a demanding stretch of the calendar: the Getafe fixture kicks off a run of five matches in two weeks, according to the club's pre-match preview, and Barça made light of it with a controlled win from start to finish — a strong start to a crucial two-week period for the champions.