Barcelona continued its perfect start to the Spanish football league, thrashing visitors Racing Santander 7-2 on Wednesday, in the first meeting between the two teams in the competition since March 2012.
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Barcelona imposed its dominance from the start, with João Cancelo opening the scoring in the 8th minute, firing a powerful shot that settled in Racing's net.
Barcelona won a penalty in the 22nd minute following a VAR review, which Raphinha converted successfully in the 25th minute, doubling the hosts' lead.
Senegal's Maguette Gaye pulled one back for Racing in the 30th minute, finishing off an organized attack with a dipping shot that beat goalkeeper Joan García.
Racing nearly equalized two minutes later, but Barcelona regained control of the match, with Cancelo adding his second goal in the 36th minute with a powerful shot that struck defender Asier Villalibre before settling in the net.
Raphinha extended Barcelona's lead with a fourth goal in the 42nd minute, benefiting from a Dani Olmo pass, raising his tally to eight goals in La Liga.
Lamine Yamal missed a penalty in the 44th minute, won by Karim Adeyemi, with the first half ending 4-1 in Barcelona's favor.
Racing began the second half trying to narrow the gap, and Villalibre nearly scored, before the post denied Lamine Yamal's shot in the 51st minute.
Coach Hansi Flick made a change in goal at the start of the second half, bringing on Wojciech Szczęsny in place of Joan García, before Barcelona's dominance continued.
Racing scored their second goal in the 65th minute through Morocco's Yasser Zabiri, capitalizing on a mistake by goalkeeper Szczęsny.
Barcelona responded quickly, with Raphinha completing his hat-trick in the 67th minute from a penalty won by Karim Adeyemi, raising the Catalan side's tally to five goals.
Lamine Yamal scored in the 70th minute, but the referee disallowed it for offside after a VAR review, before setting up the sixth goal in the 78th minute for Brazilian substitute Gabriel Jesus, who finished the move with a precise shot.
Karim Adeyemi squandered another chance in the 85th minute, while Lamine Yamal continued searching for his own goal without success in finding the net.
Barcelona sealed the match with a seven-goal haul, maintaining a perfect record after six rounds with 18 points, and continuing to lead La Liga by three points over Real Madrid, who beat Elche 3-2.
Raphinha earned the man-of-the-match award after scoring three goals, while the match also saw Morocco's Yasser Zabiri feature for Racing during the second half. - AFP
