BARCELONA -- Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Barcelona bounced back from an opening day defeat to Athletic Bilbao by thumping Real Betis 5-2 at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Griezmann opened his account for his new club just before half-time after Nabil Fekir had given Betis a surprise lead. The former Atletico Madrid star added his second after the break, curling home from the corner of the box.
Barca B forward Carles Perez added the third with a neat finish from 18 yards and Jordi Alba scored the fourth after a clever pass from Sergio Busquets. Substitute Arturo Vidal then made it five before Loren Moron grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.
Positives
Coach Ernesto Valverde will draw a long list of positives from Barca's first win of the season. Not only was this one of the most impressive performances from his side in a long while, but there were also plenty of individual highlights.
Griezmann's off the mark for the club -- the second goal was a beauty -- and he also set up Vidal's strike. With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez injured, that can only be good news moving forward. In that sense, Perez's performance also caught the eye. The youngster showed plenty of character and capped his performance with a deserved goal.
There was also a nice moment late on as Ansu Fati came on for his debut. The attacker is only 16 years and 298 days old and becomes the second-youngest player to ever represent Barca in La Liga.
Negatives
There was a 10-minute spell around the Betis goal when Barca looked nervy. Busquets' intercepted pass, which Rafinha was slow to react to, led to Fekir's goal and a series of errors followed. There was also some sloppiness in front of goal in the first half, with Rafinha especially guilty of missing chances, but they rectified that after the break.
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Manager rating out of 10
7 -- Valverde's shown he's open to change in the early weeks of the season. That's been forced in part by injuries in attack but he's also made some big decisions in midfield, with Ivan Rakitic left on the bench two weeks running. Here, his side played some brilliant football at times -- even with Messi and Suarez watching from the stands.
Player ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 -- Beaten by two absolutely stunning finishes from Fekir and Loren.
DF Nelson Semedo, 7 -- Was a menace in attack, linking well with Sergi Roberto and Perez ahead of him.
DF Gerard Pique, 6 -- The defender made his 500th appearance for the club but struggled at times in the first half. Gave away a dangerous free kick with a foul on Loren.
DF Clement Lenglet, 6 -- Like Pique, was caught out of position at times, but got away with it with some cynical fouling.
DF Jordi Alba, 7 -- Scored a good goal and linked well in the final third with Griezmann and, surprisingly, Busquets, who got forward more than usual.
MF Sergio Busquets, 7 -- Returned to the lineup after not playing in the loss to Athletic. His stray pass led to Betis' opening goal but he improved after that. Played some nice passes and set up Alba's goal.
MF Sergi Roberto, 7 -- Produced a lovely cross for Griezmann's first goal. Looks like he's going to be given plenty of time to settle into a midfield role this season.
MF Frenkie de Jong, 6 -- Played on the left of the midfield three, but seemed to spend too much time out towards the touchline, which doesn't suit him.
FW Carles Perez, 8 -- A lively performance that suggests there is no reason Valverde can't continue to rely on him while Messi, Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are out. He's prepared to take on players, shows for the ball and has bundles of character.
FW Antoine Griezmann, 9 -- Good and bad moments early on gave way to a brilliant second-half performance. Broke his duck for the club before the break and added a stunning second in the second half in a display that brought Camp Nou to its feet.
FW Rafinha, 6 -- Some nice touches but his night will be remembered for two big misses. The first was somehow deflected wide by Sidnei and he didn't even make contact with the ball at the far post for the second.
Substitutes
FW Arturo Vidal, 6 -- Came on for his first appearance of the season and netted a goal.
FW Ansu Fati, N/R -- A night the teenager will never forget. Could have been even better, too, if his fizzed effort didn't fly inches wide.
FW Junior Firpo, N/R -- The summer signing made his debut for Barca against his former side.