Raphinha hits hat-trick as unstoppable Barca put seven past Racing Santander

Not since 2011 had Barcelona scored more in their first five league matches than the 21 they had notched before tonight, and they wasted little time in adding to their total when they took the lead in the eighth minute thanks to a special strike from Joao Cancelo.

Receiving a square ball from Lamine Yamal, the full-back set himself and unleashed a powerful curling effort with his right foot from 25 yards that clipped the underside of the bar as it flew into the top corner.

That was the high point of an opening 20 minutes Barca dominated, as Raphinha had an effort saved by Julen Agirrezabala, Dani Olmo flashed an effort wide, and Karim Adeyemi clipped an effort over the goalkeeper, but just past the post.

That dominance was rewarded with a second goal midway through the first half, as Pedri sent Raphinha through on goal before being upended by Pedro Felipe. The Brazilian dusted himself off and sent Agirrezabala the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Before this round of matches, only the top four sides had scored more than Racing, and the visitors showed why on the half-hour mark, when Maguette Gueye picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box, weaved through the defence and finished in style to halve the deficit.

However, only six minutes later the hosts were two clear once more, as a confident Cancelo took aim from even further out, and his drilled effort from 30 yards deflected out of Agirrezabala’s reach.

Hansi Flick’s side remained relentless before half-time, allowing Raphinha to join Cancelo on a first-half brace when Rodri, Adeyemi and Olmo combined with a sumptuous move to feed the forward to see him slot home his eighth league goal in six league games.

In the final minute of the half, Adeyemi was caught inside the box by Pedro Felipe, who made it a brace of penalty concessions, but Lamine's poor spot-kick was well saved by Agirrezabala.

After the break, the scoring chances were as unrelenting as the rain at Camp Nou, as Lamine struck the post moments after Juan Carlos Arana side-footed a gilt-edged chance wide for Los Verdiblancos.

Wojciech Szczesny came on at half-time to replace the injured Joan Garcia, and the Polish veteran was at fault for the first goal of the second half when he was closed down by Yassir Zabiri, who won the ball and tapped into an empty net for his sixth of the season.

That only served to wake the home side up, and on their next attack, Adeyemi won Barcelona’s third penalty when caught by Iker Luque Sierra, and Raphinha completed his hat-trick by finding the bottom corner.

A frustrating night personally for Lamine continued when he had a goal chalked off for offside, but 11 minutes from time his through ball allowed Gabriel Jesus to open up his body and guide his first league goal for Barcelona.

In the final minutes, Zabiri was denied a second by a goal-line clearance, before Barca broke down the left, leading to Adeyemi squaring for Lamine, who made no mistake this time, and rounded up an emphatic nine head-to-head wins in a row, leaving Racing without a victory at Camp Nou since 1983.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)

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