Raphinha is in superb form in La Liga. The Brazilian forward scored a hat-trick against Sevilla to give Barcelona a 3-1 win. In doing so he also went past Lionel Messi for goals scored in the first seven matches of a La Liga season this century.
Barcelona fell behind early at Sevilla on Saturday night. The hosts went ahead through Youssouf Fofana in the 19th minute at the Ramon Sanchez stadium. Four minutes later Raphinha’s goal drew Barcelona level. The forward added two more in the second half to complete his hat-trick, and the Catalan club left the field with a comfortable win.
The win puts Barcelona top of the La Liga table on 21 points. They are six points clear of second-placed Real Madrid and third-placed Real Betis, although Barcelona have played one match more.
Sevilla did go ahead at the start of the match. Fofana found the net with a header in the 19th minute from a Felix Correia cross.
But within about three minutes Raphinha drew Barcelona level. Cutting inside, he beat the Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos with a precise right-foot shot.
Lamine Yamal set up both of the next two goals. In the 52nd minute Yamal moved away from goal, beat several players and sent a cross towards Raphinha. The former Leeds forward headed the ball into the net.
Then in the 69th minute Yamal made another goal for Raphinha, creating the chance with a superb pass. The 29-year-old Brazilian forward then lifted the ball cleverly over Vlachodimos and into the net.
Raphinha’s hat-trick sealed Barcelona’s seventh successive win. Across all competitions it was their eighth in a row. Sevilla remain fifth in La Liga on 13 points after the defeat.