Raphinha netted a hat-trick as Barcelona defeated Racing Santander 7-2 in La Liga on Wednesday. This win marked Hansi Flick as the first manager in the club’s history to secure victories in the opening seven competitive matches of a season. Alongside Raphinha, João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus, and Lamine Yamal also contributed goals, helping Barcelona reach a total of 33 goals in those seven matches across all competitions. The team's performance allowed them to move three points ahead of Real Madrid in the league standings.
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Barcelona started strong, taking an early lead with Cancelo’s spectacular long-range shot that hit the crossbar in the eighth minute. After Dani Olmo's near misses, Raphinha won a penalty after being fouled by Pedro Felipe, converting it effectively into the bottom right corner for Barcelona’s second goal.
Racing Santander managed to pull one back through Maguette Gueye, who scored after breaking through the defense to finish past Joan García. However, Cancelo quickly restored Barcelona's advantage with another long-range strike that was deflected in by Asier Villalibre.
Raphinha added the fourth goal after receiving a pass from Olmo. Lamine Yamal, despite his energy, saw a penalty saved by Julen Agirrezabala after Karim Adeyemi was fouled.
In the second half, Wojciech Szczesny replaced García after he appeared injured. Yamal struck the post and had a goal disallowed for offside as he faced a challenging night. Santander's Yassir Zabiri scored after Szczesny mishandled the ball during a dribble attempt.
Barcelona quickly responded with another penalty, which Raphinha converted for his hat-trick, marking his ninth goal of the league season and solidifying his place as the top scorer.
Gabriel Jesus was brought on for Raphinha and scored the sixth goal with a neat finish following a setup from Yamal. Yamal eventually scored himself after Adeyemi assisted him, finalizing the score at 7-2.
In other news, Atlético Madrid prepared for their derby against Real Madrid with a convincing 4-0 victory over Osasuna, featuring goals from Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand, and Alex Baena.