“Show them part 2” – Arsenal defender and Fabrizio Romano send message to Joao Felix after his brace for Barcelona in Champions League
Joao Felix was on fire for Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League opener against Royal Antwerp on Tuesday (September 19).
The Portuguese star opened the scoring in the 11th minute before assisting Robert Lewandowski's 100th goal in European club competitions eight minutes later. He then wrapped up the 5-0 win in the 66th minute, heading in a crisp cross from Raphinha.
Two minutes later, Felix was taken off for Lamine Yamal and received a rousing reception from the Camp Nou. He had signed for the Blaugrana earlier this summer on a season-long loan transfer with no option to make the deal permanent.
A few weeks before leaving Atletico Madrid on loan, Felix gave an exclusive interview to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, where he described a potential move to Barca as a 'dream'. The renowned journalist was one of many famous figures to comment on the 23-year-old's latest Instagram post after the win against Antwerp.
Felix posted three photos — one each from before, during and after the game. He captioned it:
"Champions League Nights 💫🤷🏽 ♂️ #viscabarca 🔵🔴"
Romano commented:
"Craque"
The word 'craque' is most commonly used in Brazil to describe a player with exceptional skill and flair. Nuno Tavares, who is Felix's compatriot, also left a comment, saying:
"Show them part 2"
Both Felix and Tavares joined SL Benfica's youth academy together in 2015 and spent four years before Felix's move to Atletico Madrid. The left-back, who signed for Arsenal in 2021, now plays for Nottingham Forest on loan.
Tavares (23) has played 28 times across competitions for the Gunners since his €8 million transfer, scoring once and providing two assists.
Xavi praises Barcelona star Joao Felix after Antwerp heroics
Xavi Hernandez was full of praise for Joao Felix after he helped Barcelona record another 5-0 win in the space of three days.
Before the game against the Belgian champions, Felix scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5-0 La Liga win over Real Betis on September 16. He seems to have found his rhythm after a subpar loan spell at Chelsea, where he scored four times in 20 games across competitions last term.
Xavi praised the former SL Benfica forward's performance against Antwerp (via ESPN):
"He (Felix) has bags of individual quality and an innate talent, but also the humility and the patience to work hard to understand where the space is and how to link play."
Ansu Fati's loan move to Brighton & Hove Albion and Ousmane Dembele's €50 million sale to Paris Saint-Germain has allowed Felix to start regularly down the left flank for Barcelona.