Barcelona's Perfect Start Continues with Raphinha's Hat-Trick

Barcelona’s perfect start rolls on. The performance? Anything but routine.

Hansi Flick’s side had to come from behind at home on Saturday, overturning a Sevilla lead to win 3-1, driven by a ruthless Raphinha hat-trick and a midfield masterclass from Rodri.

Sevilla strike first, Raphinha answers

Sevilla stunned the crowd by drawing first blood, forcing Barcelona to chase the game. The hosts wobbled briefly, but only briefly. Once Raphinha found his range, the contest flipped.

The Brazilian winger tore into Sevilla, striking three times to drag Barça not just level, but clear. Every time Sevilla thought they had survived the storm, Raphinha came again. By the final whistle, his hat-trick had sealed all three points and preserved Barcelona’s flawless opening to the season.

Rodri’s verdict: “Rapha was outstanding”

Rodri, who set the tempo in midfield, cut a satisfied figure when he faced the media after the game. He didn’t waste time spreading the praise.

“For me, today Rapha was outstanding, Lamine was also very good, and Adeyemi, I really liked how he came on in the second half,” he said, singling out the hat-trick hero, the electric youngster Lamine, and impact substitute Adeyemi.

The message from the Spain international was clear: enjoy the start, but don’t relax.

“We’re not going to lose our rhythm, we’re going to keep competing. We need to keep in mind that these are important matches and come back in the best possible shape.”

Gerard Martín steps in, Christensen goes down

Barcelona’s night carried one sour note. Andreas Christensen was forced off through injury, a blow in a back line that had started to settle.

His replacement, Gerard Martín, had no time for nerves. Thrown into a tight game, he impressed Rodri immediately.

“Gerard Martín has been sensational. Such a shame about Christensen’s injury,” the midfielder said, capturing both the excitement over the youngster’s display and the concern over a key defender.

Flick’s praise for his midfield conductor

While Rodri spent his time pushing others into the spotlight, his coach made sure the midfielder’s own influence didn’t go unnoticed.

“Rodri is a great player, both with and without the ball. He controls everything and gives us composure in our positional play. I think he connects well with Pedri and the center-backs. Overall, I think we can be happy with what we did,” Hansi Flick said.

Control, composure, connection with Pedri and the centre-backs – it is exactly the spine Flick wants as he reshapes this Barcelona.

For now, Barça hit the pause button. A break comes at the end of a sensational opening stretch, their record still perfect and their confidence growing. They resume on October 10th against Getafe, with one question hanging in the air: how long can they keep this rhythm going?