Barcelona continued their perfect start to the LaLiga season with another big win, beating Racing Santander 7-2 at Camp Nou. It was their sixth league victory from six matches, while Racing are still waiting for their first away point since returning to the top flight.
Barça came into the game in serious scoring form and wasted no time showing it. They had already scored 21 goals in their opening five league matches, their best start in front of goal since 2011, and João Cancelo added another one in the eighth minute. Lamine Yamal picked out Cancelo with a pass across the pitch, and the full back took one touch before sending a powerful curling effort from around 25 yards into the top corner. The ball clipped the underside of the crossbar on its way in, giving Julen Agirrezabala no chance.
Barcelona controlled the game during the opening stages and continued to create chances. Raphinha forced a save from Agirrezabala, Dani Olmo sent an effort just wide, while Karim Adeyemi also came close after lifting his shot over the goalkeeper and narrowly missing the target.
The second goal eventually came in the middle of the first half. Pedri played Raphinha into a dangerous position before the Brazilian was brought down by Pedro Felipe. Raphinha took responsibility from the penalty spot and calmly sent Agirrezabala the wrong way to make it 2-0.
Racing, however, were not completely out of the game. The visitors had shown enough attacking quality to suggest they could cause problems, and they pulled one back in the 30th minute. Maguette Gueye reacted quickly after the ball fell loose around the edge of the Barcelona penalty area. He drove into the box, worked his way past the defenders and finished well to give Racing some hope.
That hope did not last long. Just six minutes later, Cancelo struck again. This time the Portugal international was given space further away from goal and decided to shoot from roughly 30 yards. His low effort took a deflection that wrong-footed Agirrezabala and restored Barcelona’s two-goal advantage.
Barcelona were still not finished before half-time. Their attacking movement remained difficult for Racing to deal with, and Raphinha soon joined Cancelo on two goals. Rodri, Adeyemi and Olmo combined with some excellent passing before creating the opening for Raphinha, who finished calmly to score his eighth league goal of the campaign.
There was still time for another major moment before the break. Adeyemi was brought down inside the box by Pedro Felipe, giving Barcelona another penalty. Yamal stepped up to take it, but the young winger could not add his name to the scoresheet as Agirrezabala made a good save.
The second half started with the same open nature as the first. Yamal hit the post, while Racing also missed a big opportunity when Juan Carlos Arana sent a good chance wide of the target.
Barcelona had to make a change at half-time because Joan García was injured, with Wojciech Szczęsny coming on. Unfortunately for the experienced goalkeeper, he was involved in Racing’s second goal. Szczęsny was put under pressure by Yassir Zabiri, who managed to win possession from him before calmly finishing into an empty net.
That goal gave Racing some belief, but Barcelona responded almost immediately. Adeyemi won another penalty after being brought down by Iker Luque Sierra. This time there was no mistake from Raphinha, who placed his effort into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick.
Yamal was having a frustrating night in front of goal. He thought he had finally found the net later in the game, but the goal was ruled out for offside. The youngster still had a major role to play before the final whistle, though.
With 11 minutes remaining, Yamal found Gabriel Jesus with a clever through ball. The Brazilian opened up his body and guided his finish past the goalkeeper to score his first LaLiga goal for Barcelona.
Racing almost added another goal when Zabiri looked set to score his second of the night, but Barcelona managed to keep the effort out with a goalline clearance.
There was still time for Barça to add one more. The home side worked the ball down the left before Adeyemi sent a pass across to Yamal. This time, the teenager made no mistake and finished the move to complete the 7-2 victory.
It was another statement performance from Barcelona, who continue to score freely under Hansi Flick. The result also extended their remarkable record against Racing Santander to nine consecutive victories, while Racing’s long wait for a win at Camp Nou continued, with their last victory there dating back to 1983.
