Raphinha has made a spectacular start to Barcelona’s 2026–27 campaign, producing a landmark performance in the club’s latest La Liga victory. The Brazilian forward scored a perfect hat-trick against Sevilla on Saturday, helping Barcelona recover after falling behind and taking his league tally to 12 goals in just seven matches.
According to Spanish football statistician MisterChip, only seven players have scored at least 12 goals in their opening seven La Liga matches. Raphinha’s tally places him among a highly exclusive group of early-season goalscorers and sees him move beyond Lionel Messi’s total from the corresponding stage of the 2017–18 campaign.
In that season, Messi had scored 11 goals in Barcelona’s first seven league matches. Raphinha has now surpassed that figure with 12.
The benchmark for the period remains even higher. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 13 goals in Real Madrid’s opening seven La Liga matches in the 2014–15 season, when he eventually finished the campaign with 48 goals in 35 league appearances. The record for the first seven matches, however, belongs to Esteban Echeverria, who scored 14 for Real Oviedo in the 1943–44 season.
Raphinha’s latest achievement was particularly striking because of the manner in which he completed his hat-trick. His first goal came with his right foot after he received a defence-splitting pass from Andreas Christensen. He moved past a defender before calmly finding the net.
Early in the second half, he doubled Barcelona’s advantage with a header from a cross delivered by Lamine Yamal. His third goal arrived in the 69th minute, again with Yamal involved in the build-up. Raphinha collected the forward pass, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and lifted a delicate left-footed finish over him.
One goal with the right foot, one with the head and one with the left. That combination is known in football as a ‘perfect hat-trick’.
The achievement has an additional historical significance for Barcelona. Despite spending 17 years at the club and scoring an extraordinary number of goals during his career there, Messi never registered a perfect hat-trick in a Barcelona shirt. Raphinha has now achieved the feat.
His influence this season extends beyond his finishing. Head coach Hansi Flick has increasingly used Raphinha in a false-nine role, giving him a more central position in the attack. The move has produced remarkable numbers, with the Brazilian contributing 12 goals and three assists across his first seven La Liga appearances.
That form represents a significant turnaround after a difficult previous campaign. Injuries disrupted Raphinha’s progress and also ruled him out of the World Cup. He subsequently missed out on the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist.
There may be a personal desire to respond to those setbacks, but his performances are providing the clearest evidence of his resurgence. With 12 goals and three assists already, Raphinha has emerged as one of Barcelona’s most influential attacking players at the beginning of the new season. The bigger challenge now will be maintaining that extraordinary level as the campaign progresses.
