FC Barcelona defeated Racing Santander 7-2 at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday to maintain their position as sole leaders of LaLiga with a perfect 18 points from six matches.
Brazilian forward Raphinha scored a hat-trick, while Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo scored twice for Hansi Flick's team. Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also scored to secure Barcelona's fifth consecutive victory of the season.
First half match action
Barcelona established control of the ball from the third minute of the match. Joao Cancelo opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a long-range strike from outside the penalty area directly into the top corner.
Flick's side continued to press in the opening stages. Raphinha saw a free kick hit the defensive wall in the 13th minute, and Dani Olmo sent a shot over the crossbar from inside the penalty area two minutes later. German forward Karim Adeyemi came close in the 19th minute when his chipped effort over the goalkeeper narrowly missed the target.
Raphinha extended Barcelona's lead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute. Racing Santander responded in the 30th minute when Maguette Gueye broke through the Barcelona defense and beat goalkeeper Joan Garcia with a subtle finish to make it 2-1.
Cancelo restored the two-goal advantage in the 35th minute with another long-range strike for his second goal of the match. Raphinha scored his second goal in the 41st minute with a left-footed strike shortly before halftime.
Barcelona missed a chance to score a fifth before the break. Lamine Yamal won a penalty in the 44th minute, but Racing Santander goalkeeper Agirrezabala guessed correctly to save his placed effort and keep the halftime score at 4-1.
Second half goals and hat-trick
Barcelona started the second half seeking more goals before lowering their intensity around the 60th minute while holding a three-goal lead.
Racing Santander scored their second goal in the 64th minute following an error by substitute goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, which Yassir Zabiri capitalized on to score for the visitors.
Raphinha completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute, converting his second penalty of the match to put Barcelona 5-2 ahead. Substitute Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus scored the sixth goal in the 78th minute with a shot placed into the top corner.
Lamine Yamal completed the scoring in the 89th minute, finishing first time after a spectacular play by Adeyemi to seal the 7-2 victory.
LaLiga title race and top scorers
The victory keeps Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga standings with 18 points. Real Madrid had temporarily put pressure on Barcelona after securing a 3-2 away victory against Elche in the final minutes of their match, making a win or draw necessary for Barcelona to close matchday six as sole leaders.
Raphinha and Yamal entered the fixture trailing Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe in the LaLiga top scorer standings. Mbappe led the league with seven goals, while both Barcelona players had six goals prior to kickoff. Raphinha's hat-trick moved him to nine goals on the season, while Yamal reached seven goals.
Team lineups and squad selections
Hansi Flick named Joan Garcia in goal, supported by a defensive line of Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, and Joao Cancelo. Rodri, Pedri, and Dani Olmo started in midfield, behind an attacking trio of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Karim Adeyemi.
Flick called up 22 players for the fixture. The substitutes bench included Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Gabriel Jesus, Wojciech Szczesny, Anthony Gordon, Marc Bernal, Jules Kounde, Dominik Livakovic, and Abdelkarim.
Racing Santander started with Agirrezabala in goal, alongside Pedro Felipe, Facundo Gonzalez, Manu Hernando, Sainz-Maza, Maguette Gueye, Prati, Aaron Martin, Canales, Arana, and Villalibre. Their extended squad list also featured Mantilla, Belocian, Salinas, Luque, Vicente, and Yassir Zabiri.
Pre-match form and betting odds
Barcelona entered the game following a 4-2 away win against Levante on September 13, where Yamal scored two goals. Their earlier results this season included a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord on September 9, a 5-0 win at Valencia on September 6, a 5-2 win against Rayo Vallecano on August 31, and a 2-0 victory against Athletic Club on August 27.
Racing Santander arrived at Spotify Camp Nou sitting in mid-table after defeating Alaves 2-1 on September 12. Their prior results included a 3-2 defeat against Rayo Vallecano on September 5, a 3-2 win over Elche on August 28, a 1-0 loss to Getafe on August 23, and a 2-2 draw against Villarreal on August 16.
Betting operators listed Barcelona as heavy favorites prior to kickoff. Betsson, Betano, Bet365, 1XBet, Caliente, and Doradobet offered odds between 1.06 and 1.10 for a Barcelona victory. A draw was priced between 11.50 and 16.00, while a Racing Santander win ranged from 23.00 to 34.00.
The match took place at Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona's venue with a capacity of over 62,000 spectators, which can hold up to 105,000 attendees. Kickoff took place at 9:30 p.m. local time in Spain (2:30 p.m. Peruvian time, 1:30 p.m. in Costa Rica and Mexico, 3:30 p.m. in Bolivia, Venezuela, and Eastern US time, and 4:30 p.m. in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay), with broadcast coverage provided by ESPN.
