After registering three goal contributions in an emphatic 7-2 win over Racing de Santander, a confident Lamine Yamal went agonisingly close to curling in an early opener, only to see his long-range effort crash against the upright.
Around 10 minutes later, Sevilla demonstrated why this contest was billed as the biggest test of Barcelona’s season so far, as Youssouf Fofana powered a near-post header past La Liga debutant Dominik Livakovic after meeting Felix Correia’s clipped delivery.
The home faithful were still bouncing from Fofana’s first Sevilla goal, but their hopes of seeing a repeat of last season’s 4-1 home win over Barcelona quickly started to dissipate when Raphinha levelled the scoreline.
Thriving in a new centre-forward role this term, the Brazilian made an intelligent run in behind to collect Andreas Christensen’s through ball, and cleverly chopped it onto his right foot before calmly slotting it beyond the goalkeeper to hit double figures in just seven league games.
With the two teams level at the break, Lamine started the second period with a point to prove after reacting to Sevilla fans mocking him for a poor miss in the first half.
The 19-year-old ultimately had the last laugh, as he expertly created the goal that put Hansi Flick’s side in front. After plucking the ball out of the air, he escaped the pressure of two Sevilla defenders to stand the ball up for Raphinha to head in his second goal of the game.
Just moments later, the Barca captain nearly grabbed a third direct from the corner, but the ambitious effort found the far post rather than the net.
But that only delayed the inevitable, as he sealed a second straight hat-trick just shy of the 70-minute mark, deftly lifting a left-foot shot over the onrushing Odysseas Vlachodimos after collecting Yamal’s perfectly weighted through ball.
The 29-year-old’s 14th competitive goal wrapped up a seventh consecutive league win for Barcelona, sending the Catalan giants – who avoided a first set of successive H2H away defeats since 2007 with ease – six points clear at the summit.
As for Sevilla, there is a small consolation in that they are guaranteed to go into the upcoming international break sat fifth in the table, following a stalemate in Bilbao earlier today.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)
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