Raphinha star of the show as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid by seven to extend La Liga lead
Barcelona will remain top of La Liga during the first international break of the season, with Hansi Flick's side remaining the only team with a 100% record. That remained intact in some style on Saturday as the Catalans secured a convincing 5-0 win against Real Valladolid at the Estadio Olimpic.
Full time: Barcelona demolish Real Valladolid 7-0 and head into the international break with 12 points from 4 games.
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 31, 2024
The hosts started brightly, and despite Dani Olmo being denied twice (once for offside, the other by the woodwork), they made the breakthrough on 20 minutes. Pau Cubarsi played in Raphinha, who did not make a mistake to score his first goal of season
Four minutes later, Robert Lewandowski scored to double the advantage. Once again, Lamine Yamal made the difference, and his timely assist allowed the Polish marksman to grab his fourth of the campaign.
At half-time, Barcelona made it three courtesy of a surprise face: Jules Kounde. Raphinha's corner crashed into his path at 12 yards, and shot past impotence Karl Hein to bring the scoreline 3-0.
After the interval, Raphinha took over. A scramble in the Valladolid penalty area allowed him to tap home for 4-0, before adding another a few minutes later to secure his first hat-trick as a Barcelona player.
Barcelona was not done here. With 83 minutes on the clock, Olmo finally got on the scoresheetwhich will mark his home debut in fine style. Remarkably, a seventh followed soon after as Raphinha played in Ferran Torres for his first goal of the campaign.
The result you see Barcelona move five points away from the chasing pack, even though he played one more game.
