Raphinha's Hat Trick Powers Barcelona to 7–2 Victory Over Racing Santander
Raphinha is on a tear, and Barcelona are running with him.
The Brazilian forward struck a ruthless hat trick on Wednesday night as Barça shredded Racing Santander 7–2, extending their perfect start in La Liga to six wins from six and underlining the sheer brutality of Hansi Flick’s attacking machine.
By the end, the scoreline almost felt familiar. The pattern too.
Raphinha unstoppable
Raphinha needed six league games to reach nine goals. He got there with another clinical display, scoring in his fifth match out of six this season. Only one opponent has kept him off the scoresheet. Racing never came close.
His finishing framed the night, but it was the volume of chances Barcelona created that told the real story. Flick’s side has now hit at least five goals in five of its seven matches across all competitions this season. When they start rolling, they don’t stop.
Gabriel Jesus and João Cancelo both added their names to the list, Racing defender Asier Villalibre turned into his own net, and the champions simply overwhelmed the visitors. Racing’s resistance broke early and never quite recovered, even though Maguette Gueye and Yassir Zabiri managed consolation strikes at the other end.
Yamal’s wild night
Lamine Yamal lived through almost every emotion a young forward can feel in 90 minutes.
He had a goal ruled out for offside. He stepped up to the penalty spot and missed. He rattled the post. For long stretches, it looked like the night might pass him by while everyone else feasted.
Then the breakthrough finally came, late on, as he got the goal his performance kept threatening. One more name on the scoresheet, one more reminder of the depth of firepower Flick has at his disposal.
Barcelona’s only “quiet” attacking outing so far remains a 2–0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Every other game has felt like a statement.
Flick’s numbers, and a warning to La Liga
The numbers are starting to look absurd. Across seven matches in all competitions, Barcelona have outscored opponents 33–7. They have crushed Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia in the league, and swept past Feyenoord in the Champions League.
This latest win keeps them three points clear of Real Madrid at the top after Madrid’s victory at Elche on Tuesday. Early days, yes. But the gap is real, and so is the momentum.
One concern in goal
There was one cloud over an otherwise dominant night.
Goalkeeper Joan García did not reappear after halftime and was replaced by Wojciech Szczesny because of an apparent injury. Szczesny’s introduction brought a rare moment of chaos: trying to control the ball inside his own area, he was robbed in front of goal, gifting Racing one of their two strikes.
It barely altered the contest, but it did offer Flick a reminder that even in a 7–2 win, standards can slip.
Right now, though, Barcelona are blowing teams away at a pace that leaves little room for doubt. If this is how they look in September, what happens when the season’s real pressure arrives?
