Barcelona's Statement Win in Seville: Raphinha's Hat-Trick Highlights

Barcelona had to dig deep in Seville, but they walked away with exactly what a title challenger should: three points, a statement performance from their new spearhead, and a coach who trusts his gut as much as his data.

Raphinha the No 9, and a hat-trick in 72 hours

At the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Barcelona’s perfect La Liga start came under real threat. Sevilla struck first, and they did it early. In the 19th minute, Youssouf Fofana punished a sloppy Barça opening, finishing to give the home crowd the surge of belief they had been waiting for.

The response was instant.

Three minutes later, Andreas Christensen split the Sevilla lines with a precise pass, and Raphinha – again operating as a central striker – levelled. One touch, one finish, and the tone of his night was set.

Raphinha has been pushed into the No 9 role after the summer departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. It looks less like a stopgap and more like a reinvention. After the break, he tore into Sevilla. Twice more he found the net, twice more he showed the instincts of a born finisher, and twice Lamine Yamal supplied him.

The Brazilian completed his second hat-trick in 72 hours, taking his tally to 14 goals in all competitions this season. The numbers are starting to sound like those of a leading centre-forward, not a winger asked to “fill in”.

Barcelona were far from polished in the first half, but once Raphinha caught fire, the game bent to his will. Sevilla’s early control evaporated under the weight of his movement and Yamal’s fearless creativity.

Seven league games, seven wins. This one might say more about where Barça are heading than some of the smoother victories.

Livakovic’s debut call – a decision made on instinct

Behind the attacking fireworks, another storyline quietly unfolded. Dominik Livakovic made his Barcelona debut in goal and looked like he had been there for years. Confident under pressure, assured with his handling, he gave Pau Cubarsí and Eric García a calm presence to build around as they restricted Sevilla to scraps after the interval.

The real surprise came before kick-off. Hansi Flick had previously suggested Wojciech Szczesny was his second-choice goalkeeper, yet chose Livakovic to start this one. It was not, he insisted, the product of a deep analytical review.

“As you know, sometimes it’s not only about analysing everything. Sometimes it’s also about the feeling,” Flick said afterwards via SPORT. “I think my feeling today was like this, so I spoke with the coaches and then we made this decision. So it’s about the feeling. It doesn’t mean that we analysed it and decided that we don’t believe in Szczesny or anything like that. But for me, today, I think this was the right decision.”

Livakovic justified that instinct with a composed display, while the back line in front of him – Cubarsí and García in particular – kept Sevilla from mounting a serious late charge. A seventh straight league win was earned, not gifted.

Flick was keen to stress that nothing is set in stone between the posts.

“He was good. But in the end, it’s a decision I made, you know,” he added. “I said that before, of course. Sometimes you see a player and you feel that this player might perhaps be the first option in this position, and you make a different decision. That’s what happened. It’s not such a big thing. This decision is only for this match.”

The hardest part of winning: managing the bench

Barcelona sit top of La Liga with 21 points from 21 available. The football is starting to carry Flick’s stamp: aggressive, vertical, ruthless in transition when it clicks. The real strain for the coach lies elsewhere – on the bench.

“In the end, to be honest with you, for me this is the hardest thing at the moment,” Flick admitted. “I know everyone can be happy because we have enormous quality in the squad. But for me it’s not easy.

“When I look at the bench and see that Gavi won’t play, Xavi [Espart] can’t play, [Jules] Kounde can’t play, Szczesny can’t play, it’s not easy.

“It’s not easy for me either because I’m close to everyone, I’m with everyone, and still I have to make these decisions. In the end, that’s how it is. I’m always thinking about the team. There is nothing personal. It’s about the team. That’s why we made this decision. In the end, yes, that’s my job. But it’s not easy at the moment.”

This is the reality of a deep, ambitious squad: big names sit, big egos wait, and the coach lives with the fallout. For now, results are his shield. Seven wins from seven, a new-look attack built around a red-hot Raphinha, and a debutant goalkeeper trusted on feel alone.

If this is what Barcelona look like while still “not easy” and still in transition, what happens when Flick’s feelings and the team’s form fully align?