FC Barcelona delivered an extraordinary attacking masterclass at Spotify Camp Nou, overwhelming Racing Santander 7-2 in a torrential downpour to secure a historic start to their La Liga campaign. The victory marks the first time in history that Barça has won all seven of its opening league fixtures, accumulating 32 goals in the process.
João Cancelo and Raphinha Lead the Torrential Goal-Fest
Playing through persistent heavy rain in Barcelona, the hosts established control early when Portuguese full-back João Cancelo opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Cancelo unleashed an unstoppable strike from outside the area that bounced in off the crossbar against visiting goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. Racing Santander attempted to respond when Maguette Gueye capitalized on a rare first-half opening for the visitors, but Cancelo struck again in the 36th minute. That second long-range effort took a deflection off Racing’s Asier Villalibre, going down officially as an own goal to restore a two-goal cushion.
Raphinha continued his prolific run of form by converting an early penalty after being caught from behind inside the area. The Brazilian winger later added a clinical finish from a Dani Olmo assist before halftime, and completed his hat-trick in the second half by converting another penalty after Karim Adeyemi was brought down in the box. Those tallies pushed Raphinha’s season total to nine goals across just six league appearances, according to club data.
Substitutes and Late Drama Seal Record Victory
The second half brought further action as squad rotation and unexpected incidents unfolded on the pitch. Starting goalkeeper Joan García exited due to a freak injury and was replaced by Wojciech Szczęsny at halftime. The Polish shot-stopper endured a difficult start when a defensive miscue allowed Racing striker Yassir Zabiri to net his sixth goal of the campaign, though Szczęsny later made amends with a vital block to deny the visitors a third.
Barcelona refused to let up despite the weather conditions. Gabriel Jesus stepped off the bench in his customary supersub role, rifling home the team’s sixth goal shortly after entering the match. Lamine Yamal experienced a frustrating evening that included a missed first-half penalty saved by Agirrezabala and a brilliant solo goal disallowed for offside. However, Yamal finally got his reward in the closing moments when Karim Adeyemi surged down the right flank past multiple defenders and unselfishly set up the young winger for Barcelona’s seventh goal of the night.
Standings and Upcoming Schedule
The emphatic 7-2 result keeps Barcelona firmly at the summit of the La Liga table with a flawless record of six wins from six matches—or seven victories including all opening encounters overall. Driven by relentless attacking depth under challenging weather, the squad now turns its attention to domestic competition. The next challenge is a trip to Sevilla on Saturday at 9pm CEST.
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