Raphinha hits hat-trick as Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1 to extend perfect start

Raphinha leads comeback in Seville

Barcelona preserved their perfect record in the domestic campaign with a 1-3 victory against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán on Saturday. Hansi Flick's squad recorded their seventh consecutive win in LaLiga EA Sports to remain clear at the top of the table after Matchday 7. Brazilian forward Raphinha scored all three goals for the visitors, completing his second consecutive hat-trick and taking his season total to 12 goals in seven league appearances. Operating as a central striker and wearing the captain's armband, Raphinha continued an effective attacking partnership with winger Lamine Yamal to overturn an early first-half deficit. Prior to the match, Barcelona had trailed for only seven minutes across the entire league season, during an earlier fixture against Rayo Vallecano.

Sevilla strike first before rapid response

The match opened with early pressure from the visitors as Lamine Yamal struck the base of the post in the eighth minute with a curling left-footed strike following a run inside from the right wing. Sevilla, organized by coach García Plaza, disrupted Barcelona's passing with an aggressive pressing setup and capitalized in the 19th minute. Following a turnover from a throw-in on the wing, Félix Correia carried the ball to the left byline and delivered a cross for Youssouf Fofana to score with a header from close range. Barcelona leveled the score in the 22nd minute when Andreas Christensen delivered a long ground pass into Raphinha's path. The Brazilian dribbled past defender Arouna Sangante and finished with a low right-footed strike past goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

Second-half control and defensive substitution

The contest remained balanced before halftime, with Eric Garcia shooting over the crossbar in the 30th minute and Pedri testing the Sevilla defense in the 39th minute. Sevilla responded when Giorgi Kochorashvili headed over the bar in the 40th minute and Juan Iglesias set up Correia for a shot that grazed the post. Barcelona regained control early in the second half through Yamal, who beat Kochorashvili on the edge of the area in the 52nd minute before crossing with his right foot to the near post, where Raphinha headed home. Flick made a defensive change shortly after as Christensen exited with a right quadriceps injury, replaced by Gerard Martín. In the 69th minute, Raphinha made a run to score his third goal, extending Barcelona's lead to 1-3 and confirming the victory.

Squad rotations and scoring milestones

The match saw several lineup adjustments by Flick, including the selection of Dominik Livakovic in goal following an injury to starter Joan Garcia. Livakovic received the start ahead of Wojciech Szczesny, who embraced the Croatian goalkeeper during pre-match warm-ups after analyzing the previous match against Racing de Santander. Pau Cubarsí returned to central defense, while Rodri directed play in midfield alongside Pedri and Fermín against Sevilla's midfield pairing of Lucien Agoumé and Fofana. Anthony Gordon started on the left wing in place of Karim Adeyemi, with João Cancelo also entering the lineup. Raphinha's 12-goal tally across the first seven rounds equals the total achieved by Quini during the 1979–1980 season. In LaLiga history, only Cristiano Ronaldo scored more across the opening seven matchdays, registering 13 goals in 2014–2015.