Raphinha Hat-Trick Powers Barcelona's 7-2 Rout of Racing Santander: Why the Brazilian Is Trending in India

Why 'Raphinha' is trending in India

Raphinha scored a hat-trick — including two penalties — as Barcelona thrashed Racing Santander 7-2 in La Liga at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, according to The Guardian's match report. The performance pushed the Brazilian to nine league goals for the season, extending his lead as La Liga's top scorer, and drove roughly 20,000 searches in India over the past 24 hours, per Google Trends data observed on 17 September 2026. Indian fans searching for the FC Barcelona vs Racing Santander stats, timeline and lineups were reacting to one of the most one-sided results of the young Spanish season.

FC Barcelona vs Racing Santander: match timeline

Barcelona started at a furious pace and never let up:

• 8th minute: João Cancelo opened the scoring with a long-range strike that crashed in off the crossbar — his first La Liga start of the season.
• Raphinha won and converted a penalty for 2-0 after being brought down by Pedro Felipe.
• Maguette Gueye pulled one back for Racing, but Cancelo's second long-range effort deflected in off Asier Villalibre for 3-1.
• Raphinha, playing as a centre-forward, made it 4-1 after being played through by Dani Olmo.
• Lamine Yamal had a penalty saved by Racing goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala, hit the post and had a goal ruled out for offside.
• Substitute goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny's error gifted Yassir Zabiri Racing's second goal in the second half.
• Raphinha completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Karim Adeyemi was fouled — his ninth league goal of the season.
• Gabriel Jesus, who replaced Raphinha, scored the sixth, and Lamine Yamal finished the rout at 7-2 from an Adeyemi assist.

Flick's record-breaking start

The win made Hansi Flick the first Barcelona manager to win the opening seven competitive matches of a season, with 33 goals scored across those games. Barcelona moved three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Speaking after the match in comments published on FC Barcelona's official site, Flick said: "It's always good to start well, but what matters is how you finish," while warning that Saturday's trip to Sevilla would be "anything but easy." He also praised Adeyemi, who won both penalties: "His pace is incredible."

What it means for Raphinha and Barça

Fan outlet Barca Blaugranes argued that "there simply isn't a more important player for Barcelona right now than Raphinha," pointing to his captaincy and work rate — an opinion rather than an official club position, but one the numbers support. Nine league goals already, a hat-trick from an unfamiliar centre-forward role, and a perfect team record underline his status as the focal point of Flick's attack. One note of caution: goalkeeper Joan García appeared to hurt himself at half-time and was replaced by Szczesny, though no injury diagnosis has been confirmed. Barcelona next face Sevilla on Saturday, 19 September, as they look to extend the winning run to eight.