Hansi Flick makes Barcelona history in 7-2 Racing win | OneFootball

Barcelona thrashed Racing Santander 7-2 at Camp Nou on Wednesday, with Raphinha scoring a hat-trick to lead the rout. The result made Hansi Flick the first Barcelona manager to win the club’s opening seven competitive matches of a season.

João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also scored for Barcelona, while an Asier Villalibre own goal added the hosts’ third. The victory moved Barcelona three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Raphinha completes hat-trick as Barcelona overwhelm Racing

Cancelo set the tone in the eighth minute, crashing a long-range effort in off the crossbar. Raphinha then won and converted a penalty after Pedro Felipe brought him down. Racing responded through Maguette Gueye, who found the net to reduce the deficit.

Barcelona quickly restored their two-goal advantage when Cancelo’s second long-range effort deflected in off Villalibre for an own goal. Raphinha then made it 4-1 before half-time after being played in by Dani Olmo.

Wojciech Szczesny replaced Joan García at half-time after García appeared to hurt himself. Racing scored again when Yassir Zabiri capitalised on an error from Szczesny, but Barcelona responded almost immediately. Raphinha converted another penalty after Karim Adeyemi was brought down to complete his hat-trick and take his league total to nine goals.

Gabriel Jesus then scored from Lamine Yamal’s pass, before Yamal finished Barcelona’s seventh after work from Adeyemi. Barcelona’s attacking strength ensured that Racing’s two goals did not disrupt the hosts’ emphatic victory.

Seven wins and a three-point lead

Barcelona have now scored 33 goals across their opening seven competitive fixtures of the campaign. The run has kept them perfect domestically and put them three points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga.

Raphinha played centrally in the victory and led the scoring with three goals, including two penalties. Cancelo opened the scoring and was involved in the move that produced Barcelona’s third, while Jesus and Yamal added late goals to complete the 7-2 result.

Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid beat Osasuna 4-0 at the Metropolitano to move into third, five points behind Barcelona, according to The Guardian.