Raphinha struck three times as Barcelona demolished Racing Santander 7-2 in a thrilling La Liga encounter on Wednesday. The result made Hansi Flick the first manager in the club’s history to win his opening seven competitive fixtures.
João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also found the net for the dominant Catalan side. Barcelona have now scored 33 goals in seven matches across all competitions and sit three points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
With lightning illuminating the sky over Camp Nou, Barcelona began at a relentless tempo. Cancelo opened the scoring in the eighth minute by sending a powerful long-range strike in off the crossbar.
Dani Olmo went close on two occasions before Raphinha earned and converted a penalty to double Barcelona’s advantage. After Pedro Felipe brought him down with a mistimed challenge, the Brazilian drove the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner.
Santander reduced the deficit when Maguette Gueye forced his way forward and calmly beat goalkeeper Joan García. The visitors’ relief was short-lived, however, as another ambitious effort from Cancelo took a deflection off Asier Villalibre and ended up in the net.
Operating effectively through the middle, Raphinha scored Barcelona’s fourth after Olmo sent him through on goal. Lamine Yamal then had an opportunity to add another from the penalty spot following a foul on the lively Karim Adeyemi, but Julen Agirrezabala stopped his attempt.
Reserve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny replaced García at the interval after the Spain international appeared to injure himself when he slipped while retrieving the ball. Lamine Yamal later struck the post and saw another effort disallowed for offside during a frustrating spell for the teenager.
Yassir Zabiri scored Santander’s second goal after the break by capitalising on a serious mistake from Szczesny. The goalkeeper attempted to dribble out of trouble, but Zabiri dispossessed him and finished the chance.
Barcelona responded almost immediately with another penalty after Adeyemi was fouled inside the area. Raphinha converted from the spot to complete his hat-trick and register his ninth league goal, strengthening his position as the competition’s leading scorer.
Raphinha then made way for fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, who scored the sixth with a precise finish into the top corner after receiving a pass from Lamine Yamal. The young winger eventually claimed a goal of his own when Adeyemi charged down the left and supplied the assist for Barcelona’s seventh and final strike.
Atlético Madrid prepared for Saturday’s derby against Real Madrid with an emphatic 4-0 home victory over Osasuna. Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena scored in a commanding performance at the Metropolitano, lifting Diego Simeone’s team into third place, five points behind Barcelona.
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