Raphinha Hits Hat-Trick as Barcelona Beat Sevilla 3-1

Raphinha continued his remarkable start to the season by scoring three times as Barcelona came from behind to defeat Sevilla 3-1 in Saturday’s La Liga encounter.

The victory preserved Barcelona’s 100 per cent record and took Hansi Flick’s team six points ahead of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, who travel to Atletico Madrid for Sunday’s derby.

Sevilla provided Barcelona with their toughest challenge of the season so far and took an early lead at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.

The hosts went ahead in the 19th minute when Felix Correia beat Eric Garcia and delivered a cross for Youssouf Fofana to head past the Barcelona defence at the near post.

Barcelona responded with pressure, and Lamine Yamal came close to equalising when he curled an effort towards the far corner. Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, however, produced a fine save to turn the ball onto the post.

Raphinha then restored parity for the visitors. The Brazilian used a clever change of direction to escape his defender before placing a low shot into the net.

The goal continued an exceptional run for Raphinha, who entered the match as La Liga’s top scorer.

He added another two goals after the break, completing his second consecutive league hat-trick and taking his tally to 12 goals in seven La Liga appearances.

Yamal was involved in both goals. He first delivered a cross for Raphinha to head Barcelona into the lead before sending the Brazilian through for his third.

Raphinha then produced a composed finish, lifting the ball over the advancing goalkeeper to complete his treble.

Yamal had earlier faced whistles from the Sevilla supporters after another missed opportunity and responded by gesturing for them to continue.

Barcelona missed several opportunities to make the scoreline more emphatic. Anthony Gordon was unable to convert one chance, while Sevilla’s Vlachodimos denied Dani Olmo from a free-kick.

The victory was Barcelona’s eighth in eight matches across all competitions this season, keeping Flick’s team at the top of La Liga.

The match also marked the Barcelona debut of Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who replaced the injured Joan Garcia.

Before kick-off, Barcelona sporting director Deco confirmed that Raphinha had agreed to extend his stay at the club until 2030, with the former Leeds winger celebrating the news with a match-winning performance.

In other La Liga action, Celta Vigo thrashed Racing Santander 5-0, Athletic Bilbao and Alaves played out a goalless draw, while Osasuna drew 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano.

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