Barcelona swept Racing Santander aside 7-2 as Raphinha scored three times in a match that combined ruthless attacking with two reminders that Hansi Flick’s side are not yet without flaws.
João Cancelo opened the scoring with an early long-range effort, Raphinha struck twice from penalties and once in open play, while Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also found the net. A second Cancelo attempt was turned in via a Santander deflection. Racing responded through Maguette Gueye and Yassir Zabiri, but neither goal changed the direction of a one-sided contest.
Raphinha’s central role pays off
The most significant tactical detail was Raphinha’s position. According to reports, the Brazilian operated through the middle rather than from his more familiar wide starting point, and Santander struggled to contain the movement that came with it.
His first goal came after he won the penalty himself, using his body to get between Pedro Felipe and the ball before being brought down. His second was the kind of finish a central striker expects to take: Dani Olmo released him into space and Raphinha converted. The third again arrived from the spot after Karim Adeyemi was fouled.
Two penalties naturally inflate an individual return, but they do not diminish the wider point. Raphinha was repeatedly present in the areas where Barcelona needed a decisive touch. Playing centrally gave him access to the box more often and allowed others to supply width and running power around him.
That configuration also helped explain why Barcelona could continue to create chances even when Lamine Yamal endured an unusually frustrating spell. Yamal hit the woodwork, had a goal disallowed for offside and missed a penalty, yet still created Gabriel Jesus’s goal and later finished after Adeyemi’s run down the left. Barcelona were not dependent on one creator or one route into the area.
A record start, with differing contexts
The result preserved Barcelona’s flawless beginning to the campaign. Reports agree that Flick’s team have won every match so far, although they frame the achievement slightly differently. One account described a sixth consecutive league victory, while another counted this as a seventh win across all competitions and said it was a new club benchmark for a manager at the start of a season.
Those accounts are compatible rather than contradictory: the distinction is between the league sequence and the full competitive calendar. The broader figure is striking, particularly alongside the reported total of 33 goals in those seven matches. More important than the raw number, however, is the variety in Barcelona’s scoring.
Cancelo’s opener came from distance, Raphinha profited from both transition and the penalty area, and Jesus supplied an immediate finish after coming off the bench. The final score was not built solely on patient possession or a single forward catching fire. Santander were pulled apart by several threats, which is why reducing the match to a Raphinha hat-trick would miss the structure behind it.
Santander briefly exposed vulnerabilities
For all the attacking authority, Barcelona conceded twice. Gueye’s first-half goal arrived when he forced his way through and finished cleanly, interrupting what had looked set to become a procession. The second was more concerning from Barcelona’s perspective.
Joan García was replaced at half-time after appearing to suffer a problem while collecting the ball. His replacement, Wojciech Szczesny, then attempted to play his way out under pressure, lost possession to Zabiri and watched the Racing player score.
The incident did not threaten the result because Barcelona replied almost immediately, but it raises an issue that a more formidable opponent may test more severely. Flick’s side want their goalkeeper involved in possession, yet the reward of beating a press must be balanced against the cost of an error in a dangerous zone. A seven-goal win makes that easy to overlook; it should not make it irrelevant.
There is also a difference between controlling a match and keeping concentration over 90 minutes. Barcelona recovered rapidly after both Racing goals, a positive sign in itself. But the visitors were given moments of encouragement without creating sustained pressure, and that is the type of generosity that can turn tight matches later in the season.
Barcelona’s strength is now depth as well as momentum
The closing stages offered the clearest illustration of Barcelona’s current attacking resources. Raphinha could be withdrawn after completing his treble, only for Jesus to score shortly after entering. Yamal, despite earlier disappointments, remained involved until he had his own goal. Adeyemi had a hand in the decisive attacking sequences without appearing on the scoresheet.
That capacity to replace one threat with another is a major reason Barcelona were able to stretch Santander rather than merely protect a lead. The visitors were forced to defend their box, the channels and the space in front of their defence at the same time.
Barcelona’s perfect opening has therefore been built on more than results. This performance suggested a side with multiple finishers, adaptable forward roles and enough resilience to answer setbacks instantly. The unanswered question is whether the occasional defensive looseness can be removed before an opponent is capable of punishing it. Against Santander, the margin was so large that it barely mattered.