Shafaq News- Barcelona

Barcelona kept their perfect La Liga record intact with a 7-2 thrashing of Racing Santander early Thursday, with Raphinha scoring a hat-trick as the Catalan side moved to six wins from six.

Joao Cancelo set Barcelona on their way in the eighth minute, firing a long-range shot past the Racing defense. Raphinha then converted from the penalty spot in the 25th minute before Racing forward Asier Villalibre turned the ball into his own net 11 minutes later.

Raphinha added his second of the night in the 42nd minute, sending Barcelona into halftime 4-1 ahead. Lamine Yamal had a chance to add another before the break but missed from the penalty spot.

Racing pulled a goal back after halftime when Yasser Al-Zabiri took advantage of an error by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Their hopes of a comeback lasted only briefly, however, as Raphinha converted another penalty to complete his hat-trick.

Substitute Gabriel Jesus made it 6-2 with a well-struck finish before Yamal capped the scoring after a solo run from Karim Adeyemi.

The win took Barcelona to 18 points from six games, while Raphinha's hat-trick moved him to nine goals for the season and the top of the scoring charts. Racing Santander, who had seven points before the match, remain 10th in the standings after their second defeat of the campaign.