In Seville, where Barcelona’s early-season rhythm has already carried them clear of the domestic field, Raphinha turned another away afternoon into his own stage. The Brazilian struck all three goals in a 3-1 win over Sevilla, extending a start to the 2026/27 campaign that has placed him at the front of both LaLiga’s scoring race and Europe’s leading marksmen.
Raphinha’s remarkable opening run
- Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1 on Saturday in the seventh round of LaLiga, with Raphinha scoring a second consecutive hat-trick.
- The forward has now produced 14 goals and three assists in eight appearances this season, the strongest opening sequence by a Barcelona player in the club’s history.
- He has scored in seven of Barcelona’s eight matches. His sole game without a goal came against Levante, when he supplied two assists.
- Used centrally in Barcelona’s attack, Raphinha is enjoying what may be the finest spell of his career.
Hansi Flick has said the Brazilian’s form has not surprised him, but the scale of the numbers has made the forward impossible to overlook. Barcelona have begun the season with seven wins from seven league games and sit alone at the summit on 21 points.
Real Madrid are second on 15 points and can cut the gap to three if they defeat Atlético de Madrid on Sunday. Barcelona’s next fixture comes after the international break, when Getafe visit on 10 October.
Sevilla coach questions Ballon d’Or omission
Even the defeated side’s bench recognised the force of Raphinha’s display. Sevilla coach Luis García Plaza used his post-match press conference to question the player’s absence from the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
“There are things in football that I cannot understand,” García Plaza said. “How can Raphinha not be among the top 30 for the Ballon d’Or? I simply do not understand why he was not nominated.”
Raphinha had finished fifth in the previous year’s award but was left out when this season’s list of nominees was published earlier this month. Brazil’s representatives among the finalists are Vinícius Júnior, Gabriel Magalhães and Marquinhos.
For now, the discussion around the omitted Barcelona attacker is being settled every few days on the pitch. In Andalusia, another treble reinforced both his individual claim and Barcelona’s commanding start to the new campaign.
