ONE TOUCH SUMMARY
- Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Racing Santander 7-2 in La Liga at Camp Nou.
- Hansi Flick became Barcelona's first manager to win the opening seven competitive matches of a season.
- Barcelona have scored 33 goals across those seven games and lead Real Madrid by three points.
ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Raphinha as a No 9 is the story, not the seven goals. Flick has stopped asking him to hug the touchline and started asking him to attack the last line, and Santander had no answer — the penalty he won and buried, the run in behind that Olmo picked out for the fourth, then the spot-kick for the hat-trick and his ninth league goal of the season. That is a centre-forward's return, from a player signed as a winger.
The chaos around him is the caveat. Joan García slipped collecting the ball and gave way to Szczesny at half-time; Szczesny then tried to dribble past Zabiri and was tackled for Santander's second. Lamine Yamal missed a penalty, hit the post and had a goal ruled out. Cancelo's two long-range strikes, one off the bar, one deflected in off Villalibre, papered over a defence that conceded twice at home.
Flick's record of seven wins from seven is real, and 33 goals is not a fluke. But Atlético's 4-0 over Osasuna sets up Saturday's derby with Real, and Barça's goalkeeping situation is now a genuine selection problem rather than a rotation one.
WHY IT MATTERS
Flick's record start reframes Barcelona as the early benchmark in La Liga, while Raphinha's move to centre-forward gives the club a scoring focal point that eases the burden on its teenage wide players.
Lamine Yamal
RW
Spain
Strengths
- ✓Sets up teammates in the final third, playing in Gabriel Jesus for Barcelona's sixth goal
- ✓Gets into scoring positions, hitting the post and having a goal ruled out for offside
- ✓Left-footed right winger who can shoot or cross without reshaping his body
- ✓Comfortable receiving in tight areas of a high-tempo Flick attack
- ⚠His penalty was saved by Julen Agirrezabala, raising questions about his finishing in high-pressure moments
- ⚠A frustrating night of near-misses suggests his end product can lag behind his involvement
TACTICAL FIT
Raphinha as a centre-forward gives Flick a press-resistant focal point through the middle, freeing Adeyemi's pace and Yamal's creativity in wider areas and making long-range threats like Cancelo a secondary scoring route.
THE DEBATE
Is Raphinha now Barcelona's true No 9, or just a flat-track bully?
Agence France-Presse
Wed 16 Sep 2026 18.10 EDT
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Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona ripped Racing Santander to shreds in a spectacular 7-2 triumph in La Liga on Wednesday. The win makes Hansi Flick the club’s first manager to win the opening seven competitive matches of a season.
João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also scored for the unstoppable Catalan giants, who have netted 33 goals in those seven games across all competitions, and who move three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
With lightning flashing above Camp Nou, Barca started at rapid pace and took the lead with a thunderbolt from Cancelo. The defender crashed a shot in off the crossbar from long range in the eighth minute.
Dani Olmo twice came close before Raphinha won and converted a penalty for Barça’s second. The Brazilian was clumsily brought down by Pedro Felipe and thrashed the spot-kick into the bottom right corner.
Santander pulled one back when Maguette Gueye barged his way through and produced a neat finish to beat goalkeeper Joan García. However it proved only brief respite, with Cancelo provoking the third with another long-range effort which deflected in off Asier Villalibre.
Raphinha, thriving playing as a centre-forward, bagged Barca’s fourth after he was played in on goal by Olmo. Teenage star Lamine Yamal should have added a fifth after the electric Karim Adeyemi was brought down in the box, but Julen Agirrezabala saved his penalty.
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Barça’s reserve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny replaced García at half-time after the Spain international appeared to hurt himself while slipping as he went to get the ball. Lamine Yamal hit the post and later had a goal ruled out for offside, as the youngster suffered a more frustrating night than some of his colleagues.
In the second half Yassir Zabiri pulled another back for Santander after a dreadful error from Szczesny, who tried and failed to dribble the ball. Zabiri tackled him to score.
Barcelona’s fifth arrived almost immediately with another penalty after Adeyemi was brought down. Raphinha completed his hat-trick from the spot for his ninth league goal, extending his lead as the league’s top goalscorer.
He was replaced by his compatriot Gabriel Jesus, who added the sixth with a sharp finish into the top corner after being played in by Lamine Yamal. The winger eventually got his goal when Adeyemi roared down the left wing and set him up for Barca’s seventh and final goal.
Atlético Madrid warmed up for Saturday’s derby with Real with a 4-0 home win over Osasuna. Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena were on target in a one-sided contest at the Metropolitano as Diego Simeone’s side moved into third, five points behind Barcelona.
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