Raphinha fires hat-trick as Barcelona hammer Sevilla 5-2 to stretch La Liga lead
Raphinha tore Sevilla apart with a hat-trick on Saturday as Barcelona ran out 5-2 winners at a partially rebuilt Camp Nou. Around 56,000 supporters watched Hansi Flick's side put on a ruthless first-half display that killed the contest before the break.
Two penalties inside 18 minutes
Barcelona wasted no time. Joao Cancelo drove into the box in the ninth minute and was fouled by Djibril Sow. Raphinha stepped up and converted the spot-kick with calm authority. Nine minutes later, Cancelo caused problems again. This time Jose Angel Carmona was penalised for handball following another of the full-back's runs, and Raphinha made it two from two.
Dani Olmo extended the lead to 3-0 in the 38th minute, finishing from Marc Bernal's deflected cross. Sevilla pulled one back through Oso before half-time, but the damage was done.
Raphinha completes the treble
Any faint hopes of a Sevilla comeback were snuffed out early in the second half when Raphinha completed his hat-trick, though his shot took a heavy deflection on its way in. Cancelo then got on the scoresheet himself to make it 5-1, reward for a performance that was as much about his creation as the goals he set up. Sow grabbed a late consolation for Sevilla, but by then Barcelona's minds were already on their Champions League second leg against Newcastle.
Flick rests Yamal with Europe in mind
Flick chose to rest Lamine Yamal entirely, handing a debut to teenager Xavi Espart instead. It was the kind of luxury a manager only gets when his squad is performing across the board. Raphinha's three goals took his tally to 17 for the season across all competitions, and Barcelona's fourth consecutive league win left them on 70 points from 28 games, four ahead of Real Madrid.
The title race is far from over with 10 games remaining, but Barcelona are playing with the confidence of a team that believes it is theirs to lose.
