Racing pulled a goal back twice at Camp Nou, and Barcelona replied within six minutes each time
Seven straight wins to open a season is a club record Barcelona had never held until Wednesday night. Racing Santander twice got within a goal of them before it fell apart.
Sep 17, 2026
Barcelona beat Racing Santander 7-2 at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday, and for an hour the scoreline was a long way from being settled. Racing scored twice. Both times Barcelona restored the two-goal gap within minutes, and once the visitors ran out of legs the margin ran away from them.
Raphinha took three of the seven, two from the penalty spot. Joao Cancelo opened the scoring in the eighth minute, an Asier Villalibre own goal made it 3-1, and Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal finished it off late. Maguette Gueye and Yassir Zabiri scored for the promoted side.
Racing kept getting close, and kept getting punished
Cancelo set the tone with a strike from 25 yards that went in off the underside of the bar. Racing did not fold. Raphinha’s first penalty on 25 minutes made it 2-0, and five minutes later Gueye pulled one back to turn the night into something Barcelona had to manage rather than enjoy.
That lasted six minutes. Villalibre turned the ball into his own net on 36, Raphinha ran onto a Dani Olmo pass and scored on 42, and Barcelona went in at the break 4-1 up having barely been asked a question in the previous ten minutes.
Racing tried once more. Zabiri scored on 65 to make it 4-2, which at that point was a respectable evening’s work against the league leaders. Two minutes later Raphinha completed his hat-trick from the spot, and the resistance ended there. Gabriel Jesus scored on 79, Yamal on 89.
A club record, and Flick refusing to enjoy it
Seven wins from seven across all competitions is the best start Barcelona have ever made to a season. The 28 goals they have scored in six league games is the second-highest tally in La Liga history over that span, and the goal difference of plus 22 is the second-best any side has managed while winning its first six, behind only Real Madrid’s plus 24 in 1987-88.
Hansi Flick was not interested in the milestone. “It’s great to have a good start, but the most important thing is to have a great finish,” he said. On the performance itself he was warmer, praising the pressing: “I like the momentum and the intensity. Everyone presses, everyone is involved.”
Raphinha kept it shorter still. “I’m happy with the goals and the win, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “We have to keep improving.” He was left off the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist when it was announced on September 8, and the hat-trick was his answer, even if two of the three came from 12 yards.
Six from six, and Real Madrid still in touch
Barcelona sit on 18 points. Real Madrid are three behind on 15 having lost once, and Atletico Madrid moved third on 13 after beating Osasuna 4-0 on the same night. Racing are tenth with seven points, which for a club back in the top flight after 14 years away is a fair return from six games.
Three points is nothing in September. What should worry the rest of the division is the goal difference, because Barcelona are not grinding results out. They are removing opponents from the fixture, and that is a harder problem to plan against than a side that edges games 1-0.
Both clubs are back out on Saturday. Racing go to Celta Vigo. Barcelona travel to Sevilla, who sit fourth on the same 13 points as Atletico, and that is the first away trip this season that looks like it could actually test them.