Raphinha's Hat-Trick Powers Barcelona Past Sevilla

Barcelona walked out of the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán with three points, a 3-1 win, and a few more grey hairs. Hansi Flick’s side stayed flawless in La Liga, but Sevilla made them sweat for a seventh straight league victory.

The hosts struck first. On 19 minutes, Youssouf Fofana punished a sluggish Barcelona start, capping an early spell of pressure with the opener and jolting the league leaders into life.

The response was instant. Three minutes later, Andreas Christensen split the Sevilla back line with a sharp, vertical pass. Raphinha, operating through the middle as Barcelona’s makeshift number nine, darted in and finished, dragging his team level and flipping the mood inside the stadium.

From there, the game turned into Raphinha’s stage.

Raphinha embraces the No. 9 role

With Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres gone in the summer, Flick has handed the Brazilian a new central brief. He looks liberated. After the break, his movement and aggression began to stretch a tiring Sevilla defence, and the service started to arrive.

Twice, it came from Lamine Yamal.

The teenager repeatedly found pockets of space and, when the pressure finally told, he picked out Raphinha with the kind of composure that belies his age. The Brazilian struck again, then again, completing his second hat-trick in 72 hours and lifting his tally to 14 goals in all competitions this season.

Barcelona, so sloppy and passive in the first half, suddenly looked ruthless. Sevilla, who had sensed an upset, were left chasing shadows.

Livakovic’s bold debut call pays off

Behind that attacking surge stood a debutant. Dominik Livakovic, handed his first start in goal, delivered a calm, assured performance. He handled Sevilla’s aerial threat, read the game well, and gave Pau Cubarsí and Eric Garcia a solid platform as the centre-back pairing kept the home side’s chances to a minimum after the interval.

The bigger story came before a ball was kicked.

Flick had hinted that Wojciech Szczesny was his number two, yet chose Livakovic from the start. No elaborate data breakdown. No long-term declaration. Just instinct.

“As you know, sometimes it’s not only about analysing everything. Sometimes it’s also about the feeling,” Flick said afterwards via SPORT. “I think my feeling today was like this, so I spoke with the coaches and then we made this decision. So it’s about the feeling. It doesn’t mean that we analysed it and decided that we don’t believe in Szczesny or anything like that. But for me, today, I think this was the right decision.”

He was careful not to turn one selection into a permanent verdict.

“He was good. But in the end, it’s a decision I made, you know,” Flick added. “I said that before, of course. Sometimes you see a player and you feel that this player might perhaps be the first option in this position, and you make a different decision. That’s what happened. It’s not such a big thing. This decision is only for this match.”

On this evidence, the Croatian has thrown himself straight into the conversation.

The luxury problem Flick can’t ignore

Barcelona sit top of La Liga: seven games, seven wins, 21 points. The football, though, is only half Flick’s workload. The other half is the bench.

“In the end, to be honest with you, for me this is the hardest thing at the moment,” he admitted. “I know everyone can be happy because we have enormous quality in the squad. But for me it’s not easy.

“When I look at the bench and see that Gavi won’t play, Xavi [Espart] can’t play, [Jules] Kounde can’t play, Szczesny can’t play, it’s not easy.

“It’s not easy for me either because I’m close to everyone, I’m with everyone, and still I have to make these decisions. In the end, that’s how it is. I’m always thinking about the team. There is nothing personal. It’s about the team. That’s why we made this decision. In the end, yes, that’s my job. But it’s not easy at the moment.”

For now, the decisions are backed by results. Raphinha is thriving in a role few predicted for him, Yamal is already a creator-in-chief, and Livakovic has arrived with authority.

The question is no longer whether Barcelona can win. It’s how long Flick can keep this stacked dressing room aligned while he keeps trusting his gut.