Raphinha Leads Barcelona to Victory Over Sevilla

Barcelona walked into the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, went a goal down early, and still left the place sounding like a library. A 3-1 comeback win over Sevilla kept their league record spotless and underlined something that is no longer a theory but a fact: Raphinha is carrying this attack and loving every second of it.

Shock, response, domination

The night started badly for Barça. In the 19th minute, Youssouf Fofana punished them, putting Sevilla ahead and igniting the home crowd. For a moment, it felt like the kind of evening that can derail a perfect start.

That lasted three minutes.

Andreas Christensen split the lines with a sharp pass, Raphinha timed his run, and the Brazilian drilled home the equaliser. One touch, one finish, one swift punch back. The noise inside the stadium changed instantly.

From there, Barcelona took control and never really let go. They owned the ball, dictated the tempo and pinned Sevilla deep. Hansi Flick’s side didn’t just react to the setback; they smothered it. The comeback felt inevitable long before the scoreline reflected it.

Raphinha, the unlikely No 9

With Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres gone in the summer, questions about Barça’s goals were unavoidable. Raphinha has answered them with something close to a roar.

Deployed centrally as a number nine, he didn’t just adapt. He exploded.

His first-half strike settled the nerves. The second half turned the night into his personal stage. Two more goals completed a ruthless hat-trick, taking him to 12 league goals in seven appearances. Across all competitions, the numbers are even more absurd: 14 goals and three assists in just eight games.

This wasn’t a one-off either. The treble in Seville came only 72 hours after his previous hat-trick, in that 7-2 demolition of Racing. Back-to-back hat-tricks in three days is the kind of form that defines a season, sometimes even a career.

Every run had purpose. Every touch in the box carried threat. Raphinha is playing like a winger who has discovered the joy of living between the posts, and La Liga is feeling the impact.

Yamal and the supply line

Raphinha finished the chances, but Lamine Yamal kept feeding the fire.

Stationed wide, Yamal repeatedly drove at Sevilla’s backline and at Odysseas Vlachodimos, stretching the game and ripping open spaces for his new central striker. He ended the night with two assists for Raphinha and a constant stream of danger down his flank.

Sevilla never really solved him. When they stepped out, he went past them. When they sat deep, he picked passes. As Barcelona’s control grew, Yamal and Raphinha turned the contest into a training-ground drill at full speed.

New keeper, same control at the back

All of this attacking flair rested on something more solid: a defence that, after the early lapse, barely gave Sevilla a sniff.

Dominik Livakovic, making his debut in goal, looked assured. He dealt with Sevilla’s best efforts cleanly and projected calm in a stadium that usually feeds on any sign of doubt.

In front of him, Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia took charge. Once Fofana’s opener went in, they tightened everything. Sevilla were reduced to half-chances and hopeful efforts, shut out of the kind of clear openings that change games.

The only dark cloud for Barça came with Christensen’s thigh injury in the second half. He had already played a key role in the equaliser, and his fitness will now be one of Flick’s immediate concerns.

Top of the table, eyes on what’s next

The win keeps Barcelona clear at the top of La Liga with 21 points, their domestic start still flawless and their confidence rising with every match. Flick has a few days now to count the walking wounded, especially Christensen, and to manage the workload of a squad suddenly leaning heavily on its new central talisman.

Getafe await on October 10 as the next league hurdle. Three days later, Galatasaray arrive in the Champions League for a clash that will test whether this early-season surge can travel onto the European stage.

If Raphinha keeps scoring like this, the real question may not be whether Barcelona can compete. It may be how far this reinvented attack can drag them.