Vitor Roque came on as a 63rd minute substitute against Osasuna on Wednesday, and within seconds of entering the fray, he was heading in a Cancelo cross to celebrate his first ever goal in the blaugrana jersey. It’s probably no more than coincidence, but the side from Pamplona have now been the opposition for seven first-time goals for Barça players as many years.
The first of these was in 2017, and was the one and only goal that Javier Mascherano scored in his time at the club. The fact he had never scored was something of an anecdote at the time, and when Barça were awarded a penalty in a game they eventually won 7-1, the players decided to let the Argentinian take it. Thankfully, he scored.
Two years later, Barça drew 2-2 in Navarra, and both the goals were firsts. Ansu Fati’s was especially significant because it made him the youngest player ever to score a league goal for the club, while Brazilian Arthur Melo found the net just minutes later to secure a valuable point.
At the height of the pandemic in 2021, Ilaix Moriba was on the end of a Leo Messi assist to fire home an utter rocket of a shot. His first goal for Barça, and the one that made sure of a 2-0 win.
The following season the game at Osasuna was another to produce two maiden goals. Nico González scored in the first half and Abde Ezzalzouli in the second, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the loss of two points in a 2-2 draw.
And then came Wednesday and Vitor Roque. There may be no science or reason for it, but Osasuna do seem to have a curious habit of being the victims when Barça players score their first goal for the club!
