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Cristiano Ronaldo's old celebration was on show at his rivals' home ground as Barcelona claimed a brilliant 5-0 win over Real Betis in La Liga. Portuguese forward Joao Felix replicated the celebration after scoring the game's first goal, his first for the club.
Champions Barcelona were coming into the match on the back of three straight wins and were looking to make it four when Real Betis came visiting. Manager Xavi opted to hand full debuts to Portuguese pair Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo for the match following their deadline-day arrival.
Twenty-five minutes into his full debut for the Blaugrana, Felix opened the scoring for his new side. The Portuguese star needed two attempts to put the ball in the back of the net after he had been found by Oriol Romeu.
His celebration afterwards brought back 15-year-old memories of Cristiano Ronaldo. He stood with his arms stretched out and shrugged, while maintaining the facial expression of one with no care in the world.
Fans of Real Madrid great Cristiano Ronaldo took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the celebration from the forward. One of them pointed out the similarities between the celebrations in a post.
Here are some more fan reactions:
One fan made a bold claim about the prospect of Joao Felix winning the Ballon d'Or after he copied Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Joao Felix leads Barcelona to victory
Joao Felix was hugely impressive in his full debut for Barcelona, scoring the opener. He was a threat throughout the game as he combined well with his fellow attackers all through. His dummy led to Robert Lewandowski scoring the second goal of the game in the first half (32').
Barcelona finally scored their first direct free-kick goal since Lionel Messi left the club in 2021 through Ferran Torres. The Spaniard scored after 62 minutes to make it 3-0 for his side. Raphinha came off the bench to score a fine goal in the 66th minute, before Cancelo capped off his debut with a goal (81').
Xavi's team move to the top of La Liga, for now at least, after their comprehensive home win. They currently have 13 points from 5 matches.
They will be watching closely when Ronaldo's former team Real Madrid take on Real Sociedad on Sunday. Their El-Clasico rivals will go back to the top of the standings with a win over La Real. Real Madrid are currently sitting at the second spot with 12 points from four matches.
Barcelona have very little turnaround before their next game. Their next assignment is a home game in the UEFA Champions League against debutants Royal Antwerp, on September 20.
