Raphinha's Hat-Trick Leads Barcelona to Comeback Victory Over Sevilla
Barcelona walked into the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with a perfect league record and walked out looking even more convincing. A 3-1 comeback win over Sevilla kept their La Liga start spotless, but the scoreline barely scratches the surface of how dominant Hansi Flick’s side became after an early scare.
Early shock, swift response
The home crowd had barely settled when Sevilla struck first. In the 19th minute, Youssouf Fofana punished Barcelona, putting the hosts ahead and briefly igniting the stadium. For a moment, it looked like the leaders might finally be rattled.
That moment didn’t last.
Just three minutes later, Andreas Christensen split the Sevilla lines with a precise pass. Raphinha, now operating through the middle, took full advantage and levelled the match, killing the noise and swinging control firmly Barcelona’s way.
From there, the visitors took charge. They pinned Sevilla back, kept the ball, and carved out chance after chance. The early deficit started to feel like a minor inconvenience rather than a genuine problem.
Raphinha owns the night
If this Barcelona side needed a new reference point in attack after the summer exits of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, they have found one. His name is Raphinha.
The Brazilian was untouchable. Having already dragged Barça level before the break, he tore Sevilla apart in the second half, scoring twice more to complete a hat-trick and flip the contest into a procession. His treble took him to 12 goals in seven league games, a staggering return for a player only recently repurposed as a central striker.
His overall numbers this season are even more brutal: 14 goals and three assists in just eight matches across all competitions. That run includes back-to-back hat-tricks in the space of 72 hours, after his three-goal show in the 7-2 demolition of Racing in the previous round.
This is not a winger filling in. This is a winger reinvented, and thriving, as Barcelona’s No 9.
Yamal sparks, backline locks in
Raphinha stole the headlines, but he didn’t do it alone. On the right, Lamine Yamal tormented Sevilla all evening. The young winger repeatedly drove at the defence, forced Odysseas Vlachodimos into action, and delivered two key assists for Raphinha. Every time he picked up the ball, Sevilla’s back line braced for impact.
At the other end, Barcelona showed a steel that has quietly become just as important as their attacking fireworks. Even after Christensen limped off in the second half with a thigh issue, the structure held.
Dominik Livakovic, making his debut in goal, looked assured. He dealt with Sevilla’s most promising efforts cleanly and brought calm to a back line marshalled by Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia. After Fofana’s opener, Sevilla were largely starved of clear chances as Barcelona squeezed the space and smothered any hint of a comeback.
The longer the game went on, the more it resembled a training exercise in control.
Top of the table, eyes on what’s next
The win keeps Barcelona comfortably on top of La Liga with 21 points from 21, and the performance will only deepen the belief inside Flick’s squad. The coach now faces a different kind of challenge: managing the fitness of Christensen and maintaining this ferocious rhythm as the fixtures pile up.
Getafe await on October 10 in domestic action, before a crucial Champions League test against Galatasaray on October 13. With Raphinha in this kind of form and the team blending defensive stability with ruthless finishing, the real question is no longer whether Barcelona can stay perfect.
It’s how long anyone can live with them.
