Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona continued their remarkable start to the season with a commanding 7-2 victory over Racing Santander at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian forward produced another outstanding attacking display, scoring twice in the first half before completing his treble from the penalty spot in the second as Hansi Flick’s side maintained their perfect start to the La Liga campaign.
Barcelona have now won all six of their league matches this season, while their victory over Racing also extended their winning run to seven games in all competitions including their 5-1 demolition of Feyenoord in the Uefa Champions League.
Flick has consequently become the first Barcelona manager to win the club’s opening seven competitive matches of a season.
Lamine Yamal was also central to Barcelona’s attacking threat, providing two assists before getting on the scoresheet himself late in the game. The teenager also endured a brief setback after failing to convert a first-half penalty.
João Cancelo opened the scoring after just eight minutes, firing home after receiving a a pass from Yamal to give Barcelona an early advantage.
The goal continued a notable trend for the Catalan giants, who have now scored inside the opening 10 minutes in three consecutive matches.
Raphinha doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 25th minute after being brought down inside the Racing penalty area. The Brazilian calmly converted to take his league tally to eight at the time.
Racing Santander responded five minutes later when Maguette Gueye reduced the deficit, but Barcelona quickly regained control.
The hosts restored their two-goal cushion in the 36th minute when Racing forward Asier Villalibre turned the ball into his own net. Raphinha then added another six minutes later, combining with Dani Olmo before finishing to put Barcelona 4-1 ahead at the interval.
Yamal had an opportunity to add a fifth before the break, but the young forward failed to convert from the penalty spot, leaving Barcelona with a three-goal advantage at half-time.
Racing briefly threatened a comeback after Moroccan forward Yassir Zabiri capitalised on a Barcelona defensive mistake to make it 4-2 in the 65th minute.
Any hopes of a dramatic recovery, however, were quickly extinguished. Raphinha completed his hat-trick from another penalty two minutes later, restoring Barcelona’s four-goal advantage and taking his tally to nine league goals after just six matches.
The treble also moved Raphinha’s total to 11 goals in all competitions this season. He has either scored or provided an assist in each of Barcelona’s seven competitive matches so far, underlining his importance to Flick’s attacking system.
Gabriel Jesus then joined the scoring party in the 79th minute after replacing the hat-trick hero Raphinha, marking his first La Liga goal for Barcelona since joining the club from Arsenal. The Brazilian produced another contribution off the bench as Barcelona continued to exploit a tiring Racing defence.
Yamal completed the rout in the 89th minute, making amends for his missed penalty and bringing his league tally for the season to seven goals. Karim Adeyemi supplied the assist after a strong individual run.
The victory further highlighted Barcelona’s extraordinary scoring numbers. They have now scored 28 goals in their opening six LaLiga matches, 11 more than nearest rivals Real Madrid at the same stage, while conceding only six.
Barcelona’s latest seven-goal performance also continues a remarkable run of attacking displays, with the defending champions having scored at least four goals in six of their seven competitive matches this season.
With Raphinha in ruthless form and Yamal continuing to influence games at an extraordinary rate for his age, Barcelona’s attack is already proving to be one of the defining features of their campaign.
