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Raphinha scored three times as Barcelona beat Racing Santander 7-2 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, and the Brazilian is now on nine league goals from six matches. Eleven in all competitions. It is still September.
Hansi Flick's side have won all six of their La Liga games to open the defence of the title. They have scored five or more in five of their seven matches across all competitions, 33 goals in total, which is the sort of run that usually comes apart at some point. No sign of it yet.
How the goals came
Joao Cancelo started it in the eighth minute with a curler from 20 yards. Raphinha made it two from the penalty spot midway through the first half.
Racing did not lie down. Maguette Gueye pulled one back, and for a few minutes the visitors looked like they might make a game of it. Then Cancelo hit another from distance, the ball deflected off Asier Villalibre, and the goal went down as an own goal. Raphinha added a low finish for the fourth.
It should have been five before the break. Lamine Yamal took the next penalty and Julen Agirrezabala saved it on the stroke of half-time.
Second half, same story
Yassir Zabiri scored Racing's second on 65 minutes. Two minutes later Barcelona were awarded their third penalty of the evening, spot-kick duties went back to Raphinha, and the captain had his hat-trick.
Yamal set up substitute Gabriel Jesus for the sixth, then got his own goal in the 89th minute. A missed penalty and he still finished the night with a goal and two assists.
What it means
Six wins from six, a goal difference that is already absurd, and a captain in the best scoring form of his career. Racing Santander will not have enjoyed the trip, though scoring twice at the Nou Camp is more than most sides manage.
The real question is whether this holds when the fixtures get harder. On the evidence so far, nobody in Spain looks ready to slow Barcelona down.
Source: BBC Sport
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