Raphinha Shines as Barcelona's New No 9 Against Sevilla
Barcelona walked into the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with a perfect league record and walked out with something more dangerous: a new, ruthless centre-forward in full flight.
Hansi Flick’s side beat Sevilla 3-1, coming from behind and barely blinking while they did it. The scoreline flatters the hosts. The game belonged to Raphinha.
Shock, response, takeover
For 19 minutes, Sevilla had the night they wanted. The crowd roared, Barcelona were still settling, and Youssouf Fofana punished them. His finish put the home side 1-0 up and briefly cracked open the title race narrative.
The crack closed almost instantly.
Three minutes later, Andreas Christensen split Sevilla with a precise ball. Raphinha took it, finished, and silenced the stadium in a single movement. The equaliser didn’t just level the game; it reset the power dynamic. From that point on, Barcelona dictated everything.
They pinned Sevilla back, moved the ball with authority and turned possession into pressure. The early scare faded into the background as the visitors began to look like a side that expects to win the league, not just chase it.
Raphinha, the reluctant No 9 turned ruthless finisher
Barcelona lost Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres in the summer. On paper, that’s a void. On the pitch, Raphinha is treating it like an opportunity.
Shifted centrally as a No 9, the Brazilian is not just coping with the role; he’s owning it. In Seville, he scored twice more in the second half to complete his hat-trick, dragging the game away from the hosts and taking his league tally to 12 goals in seven appearances.
His overall numbers this season are bordering on absurd: 14 goals and three assists in eight matches across all competitions. Two hat-tricks in 72 hours. One in a 7-2 demolition of Racing in the previous round, and now this, in a far more hostile setting.
These aren’t padded stats in dead games. They’re statement performances. Barcelona needed a focal point. They have found one in a winger who suddenly looks like a penalty-box predator.
Control at both ends
Raphinha will take the headlines, but Barcelona’s control ran deeper than one man’s finishing.
Dominik Livakovic, making his debut in goal, looked like he had been there for months. He handled Sevilla’s efforts with calm hands and sharp positioning, turning potentially awkward moments into routine saves. Behind an evolving back line, he offered exactly what a new keeper must: security.
The defence had to adapt on the fly when Christensen went off in the second half with a thigh injury. Even so, the structure held. Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia marshalled the back line with composure, shutting down Sevilla’s attempts to turn the match into a chaotic shootout. After Fofana’s opener, clear chances for the hosts were rare.
Up the pitch, Lamine Yamal tormented Sevilla from the wing. The teenager’s fearlessness showed in every sprint and every touch as he repeatedly went at Odysseas Vlachodimos’ goal. Two of those attacks ended with him supplying crucial assists for Raphinha. His directness stretched Sevilla, his final ball punished them.
The longer the game went on, the more it felt like a mismatch in rhythm and belief. Sevilla chased. Barcelona dictated.
Top of the table – and a test of depth
The win keeps Barcelona perfect in the league and comfortably on top of La Liga with 21 points. The performance, though, raises a different question: how high is this team’s ceiling if Raphinha keeps scoring at this rate and the defensive structure continues to harden?
Flick will spend the coming days assessing Christensen’s thigh problem, because the schedule is about to bite. Getafe arrive on October 10 in La Liga. Three days later, Galatasaray await in the Champions League in what already feels like a measuring-stick night for this new-look Barcelona.
A flawless start, a reinvented No 9, a debutant goalkeeper settling in, and a teenager ripping defences apart from the wing.
If this is only the beginning, what does the middle of their season look like?
