At eight o'clock this Thursday morning, Eder Sarabia (Bilbao, 1980) went out cycling with a friend to the hermitage of Sant Pasqual, in Orito (Alicante). He spent almost two hours on the bike, with a demanding climb and ramps with slopes of over 15%, to say goodbye to Elche, the city where he has lived lately, before heading to Barcelona. On Wednesday afternoon, it was confirmed that the Basque coach would be Manolo González's replacement on the Espanyol bench.

Barça, without fanfare, has done its job and has beaten Elche (3-1) With goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Marcus Rashford. Here are some immediate highlights of the match:

In January 2020, Barça sacked Ernesto Valverde and signed Quique Setién as their new manager. In his first talk in the locker room, he introduced his assistant, Eder Sarabia, and warned them that he had "a strong personality." Josep Maria Bartomeu, then president, and the board members accompanying him laughed at the remark. The players, not so much. Eight months later, Setién and Sarabia left unceremoniously after one of the most resounding sporting failures in recent years, with the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. But above all, they left behind a legacy of disgrace. a string of conflicts with the playersToday, Elche's head coach, Sarabia, faces Barça (6:30 p.m., DAZN) eager to prove himself.