Barcelona’s left flank had a Portuguese signature as João Cancelo struck twice from distance, his first career brace helping to restore the home side’s control after Racing had narrowed the score to 2-1.
João Cancelo powers Barcelona with landmark double
SEO Title: João Cancelo scores first career brace for Barcelona
SEO Description: João Cancelo hit two long-range goals for Barcelona, taking his club total to eight and recording the first brace of his professional career.
In the city’s familiar stadium light, Barcelona needed only eight minutes to take the lead. Lamine Yamal had tried to break forward, Dani Olmo had tested the area from range and Raphinha had seen a difficult effort blocked by Agirrezabala before Cancelo supplied the finish that changed the evening.
Receiving possession near the left edge of the penalty area, Cancelo shifted inside and sent a powerful, curling strike towards the far corner. The ball clipped the crossbar, landed on the line and then crossed it, prompting astonished reactions from several Barcelona players. La Liga measured the effort at 128.6 km/h.
Racing later reduced the deficit to 2-1, but Cancelo responded with another spectacular effort to make it 3-1. Given space around 30 metres from goal, he drove a firm instep shot which took a slight deflection off Villalibre before finding the net.
The Portuguese defender had been selected ahead of Xavi Espart on the left and made the most of the opportunity. Although much of his career has been spent at full-back, the two goals brought his overall return to 35.
A home-only Barcelona scoring record
Cancelo now has eight goals for Barcelona, matching the total he registered at Manchester City. All eight of his Barcelona goals have come at home: four at the Estadi Lluís Companys and four at Spotify Camp Nou.
His remaining club goals have been spread across Europe, with four for Valencia and one each for Juventus, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. He has also scored 12 times for Portugal.
The double was not his only recent attacking contribution. Earlier this season, he created a goal for Adeyemi against Feyenoord, meaning he has now directly produced two goals during the campaign.
Competition remains intense at left-back
Xavi Espart has increasingly established himself as the regular starter on Barcelona’s left side, yet Cancelo has featured in every match apart from the trip to Mestalla. Their respective form has left Alejandro Balde still waiting to make his first appearance of the season.
