Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and added two assists to guide Barcelona to a 7-0 rout of Real Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday.
Hansi Flick’s side will go into the international break top of the table with a perfect 12 points from four games, seven clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Facing a side who gave Madrid a tough game last weekend, Barça were ruthless as they took their goal tally to 13 from four matches.
Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski gave the hosts a two-goal lead with goals on the break four minutes apart, controlling long balls by Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal before tidy finishes past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein. Jules Koundé extended the lead, striking from a corner in added time before the break.
After Lewandowski hit the post early in the second half, Raphinha scored twice from close range to extend Barca’s lead to five, with Lewandowski and Yamal providing the assists. The Brazil winger continued his masterclass with an assist to new signing Dani Olmo, who scored in the 82nd minute on his first start for Barça.
Olmo had already hit the post twice and missed a close-range sitter as Barcelona produced 23 efforts on goal to Valladolid’s five. Substitute Ferran Torres completed the drubbing in the 85th minute from another assist by Raphinha.
Atletico Madrid are second, four points behind Barça, after Ángel Correa’s strike from a counterattack in stoppage time gave them a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday.
In an entertaining game in which both teams struggled to find a cutting edge, the visitors finally broke the deadlock two minutes into added time. Alexander Sorløth stole the ball from defender Iñigo Lekue on the halfway line and set up substitute Correa who rounded the goalkeeper before tapping into the empty net.
Villarreal go into the international break in third place after earning a 1-1 draw at Valenciawho stay bottom of the table despite picking up their first point of the season. Hugo Doro’s opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Ayozé Pérez just before the break, and the visitors held on after Pape Gueyé’s second-half dismissal.
In Serie A, Napoli’s Romelu Lukaku and André Zambo Anguissa scored in stoppage time to earn a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over promoted Parma. The feisty visitors, who beat Milan 2-1 at home last week, looked to be on their way to another surprise win thanks to a 19th-minute penalty from Ange-Yoan Bonny.
Another frustrating night for Antonio Conte changed direction when the Parma keeper Zion Suzuki was shown a second yellow card for a foul on David Neres. With no substitutes available, defender Enrico Del Prato had to take over in goal.
after newsletter promotion
Parma still held on until the second minute of stoppage time, when new signing Lukaku equalised with a low shot from 12 yards out. Four minutes later, Zambo Anguissa’s header sealed the win in front of an ecstatic home crowd.
Milan are still without a win after three games, but Rafael Leão’s powerful finish at least earned the Rossoneri a point away to Lazio. Strahinja Pavlovic headed the visitors in front after clearing Boulaye Dia’s shot off the line at the other end, but Lazio hit back through Taty Castellanos and then led through Dia’s close-range finish before Leão rescued a draw in the 72nd minute.
Marseille sit top of Ligue 1 after Mason Greenwood’s first-half double set up a 3-1 victory in Toulouse. Greenwood was set up twice by Luis Henrique in the space of 60 seconds, before Frank Magri was sent off for the hosts. Henrique’s shot then deflected in off the unfortunate Charlie Cresswell to make it 3-0, and Greenwood missed a chance of a hat-trick before Shavy Babicka pulled one back for Les Violets.
Nantes sit in second place after Mostafa Mohamed’s late goal capped a 3-1 victory at Montpellier. Brest picked up their first points of the season in style, routing Saint-Étienne 4-0 at home to leave the promoted side bottom of the table.
