Raphinha's Hat Trick Powers Barcelona to 7-2 Victory Over Racing
Barcelona are not easing their foot off anything this season. Not the gas, not the throats of opponents, and certainly not the goal tally.
On Wednesday, Racing Santander were the latest side torn apart, a 7-2 demolition that kept Hansi Flick’s team perfect in La Liga: six wins from six, another statement, another avalanche of goals.
At the heart of it all, again, was Raphinha.
Raphinha unstoppable
The Brazil forward walked off with the match ball and the league’s scoring lead. His hat trick took him to nine goals in six league matches, and he has failed to score in only one game all season. Right now, he is operating at a pace that defenders simply cannot live with.
Every Barcelona surge seemed to end with Raphinha in a shooting lane. He finished with the conviction of a man who expects the net to move. The numbers back it up: nobody in Spain has scored more.
Yamal’s chaotic night
If Raphinha’s evening was clinical, Lamine Yamal’s was chaotic before it turned cathartic.
The teenager had a goal ruled out for offside, then stepped up to the spot and missed a penalty. He hit the post as Barcelona poured forward. It felt, for a while, as if the goal would never come.
Then it did. Late on, Yamal finally found the net, a reward for relentless involvement and a reminder of how dangerous he already is. Even on a night that tried to frustrate him, he still left his mark on the scoreboard.
Goals from everywhere
Barcelona’s attack came at Racing from all angles.
Gabriel Jesus got in on the act. João Cancelo also scored, underlining just how high and how aggressively Flick’s full-backs are playing. Racing’s Asier Villalibre turned into his own net to deepen the damage.
Racing still found brief moments of joy, with Maguette Gueye and Yassir Zabiri scoring for the visitors, but they were little more than interruptions in a one-sided spectacle.
Barcelona have now scored at least five goals in five of their seven matches across all competitions this season. The only time they dipped below four was a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. For everyone else, it has been a flood.
Flick’s machine rolls on
The scale of the dominance is stark. Across seven games in all competitions, Barcelona have outscored opponents 33-7. They have crushed Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia in La Liga, and swept aside Feyenoord in the Champions League.
The reward is already visible in the table. Barcelona sit three points clear of Real Madrid, who won at Elche on Tuesday, but cannot match the champions’ ferocity in front of goal so far.
This is not just winning. This is imposing a style, a tempo, and a threat that looks suffocating for anyone standing in the way.
A rare blemish in goal
The only sour note for Barcelona came in goal.
First-choice keeper Joan García had to be replaced at halftime with an apparent injury, bringing Wojciech Szczesny into the match. The veteran’s introduction did not go smoothly.
Szczesny’s error gifted Racing one of their goals, as he tried to control the ball inside his own area, was caught in possession and punished right in front of his net. On a night where Barcelona’s outfield play looked almost untouchable, it was a reminder that one misstep at the back can still sting.
Even so, the scoreboard told the real story. Seven more goals, another hat trick for the league’s most lethal forward, and a Barcelona side that looks intent on turning this season into a chase that the rest of Spain may struggle to join, let alone catch.
