Raphinha’s hat‑trick propelled Barcelona to a 7‑2 demolition of Racing Santander, giving Hansi Flick the distinction of being the club’s first manager to win the opening seven competitive matches of a season.
João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also found the net, pushing the Catalan giants to 33 goals in seven games across all competitions and pulling three points clear of Real Madrid at the summit. For my money, this attacking firepower signals Barcelona’s title charge.
A flash of lightning over the Camp Nou set the tone as Cancelo struck from distance, his shot rattling the crossbar before the rebound slipped in the eighth minute to give Barça the lead.
Dani Olmo brushed past the keeper twice, then Raphinha was felled by Pedro Felipe and calmly slotted the resulting penalty into the bottom right corner for the second goal.
Maguette Gueye carved a path and tucked home a tidy finish, briefly easing Santander’s pressure, but Cancelo answered with another long‑range effort that deflected off Asier Villalibre for the third.
Playing as a centre‑forward, Raphinha tapped in a fourth after Olmo supplied the ball, while Yamal saw his penalty saved by Julen Agirrezabala after Karim Adeyemi was brought down. Can Barcelona keep this momentum into the next round?