Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Racing: Not Even Tornado Warnings Can Slow Barca Down

Playing amid thunderstorms and tornado warnings, Barcelona supplied the lightning with a ruthless attacking demolition job to defeat Racing Santander 7–2 to continue their perfect start of the term on Wednesday night.

It was all Barcelona from the start and it once again didn’t take even 10 minutes for the defending Spanish champions to find the back of the net. João Cancelo unleashed a cracking hit from distance that slammed the crossbar and bounced in for an early goal of the season contender.

The Catalan siege didn’t stop and after peppering Racing’s goal with shot after shot, they finally doubled their lead when Raphinha sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from a penalty he created 25 minutes into the contest.

Out of nowhere, though, Racing got one back with their first shot of the night as Maguette Gueye sliced past a loose Barça defense to chip Joan García 30 minutes in. Some nervy moments for the hosts followed but order was restored when Cancelo fired his second long-distance rocket that took a slight deflection—prompting the strike to later be ruled as an Asier Villalibre own-goal, denying Cancelo’s brace.

Raphinha didn’t want to be outshined and completed his brace on the brink of halftime to make it four. Still, it could’ve been a lot worse for Racing considering Lamine Yamal missed a penalty right before the break.

The hosts somewhat took their foot of the gas in the second half until Wojciech Szczęsny gifted Racing their second as he made a mess of his attempt to pass out of the back much to Yassir Zabiri’s benefit. But Barça responded almost instantly as Karim Adeyemi won his second penalty of the evening and Raphinha completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute.

The Catalans were far from done, though, as Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal got into the goalscoring party late to add the exclamation point on a simply demolishing performance that served to secure lone possession of the top spot in La Liga.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Lamine Yamal, Raphinha — Barcelona’s attack is simply unstoppable right now. | Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona’s relentless goalscoring machine is reaching simply ridiculous levels to start the campaign.

The failure to acquire a marquee center forward dampened the mood over Barcelona’s summer transfer window, but the fears have long been left in the rearview mirror as the Catalans have now scored 33 goals in their first seven games of the season. Plus, they have scored four or more in all but one game so far.

What’s perhaps more impressive is that Barcelona’s attacking numbers could easily be higher. In the first half alone against Racing, the Blaugrana missed five of the seven big chances they created. They’ve now missed 20 big chances in their most recent five games, yet they’ve still scored 26 goals in that same stretch.

Flick’s men usually don’t even give opponents a chance to settle into their game plan given they’ve scored inside the opening 20 minutes in six of their seven games of the campaign. Furthermore, four players have combined to complete nine brace performances, with the latest two coming on Wednesday night.

This Barça attack is a formidable force, with every player on the pitch capable of contributing to the team’s effort up front. At no point during the Flick era has the attack looked as prolific, and if they can maintain the level, this is a team capable of outscoring any opponent in the world.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Racing (4-2-3-1)

Raphinha scored his first hat-trick of the term to go along with his three brace performances. | Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Joan García—5.7: Beaten from close range with a clever chip and then was withdrawn at halftime with an apparent injury.

RB: Eric García—7.3: Mistimed his jump to try and intercept the pass which led to the action of Racing’s opener. Solid otherwise.

CB: Andreas Christensen—6.5: Barely had to break a sweat given how little he was tested but he was still slightly late to react to Racing’s lone goal of the night.

CB: Gerard Martín—7.3: Like his partner alongside him, Martín had little work to do on the night but dealt with his duties well and was stellar in his distribution. Got battered with an elbow to the face for the second game in a row.

LB: João Cancelo—7.8: First La Liga start of the term and he celebrated it with a pair of absolute screamers—one, though, was given as an own-goal. A little soft in his attempt to clear the ball which led to Racing’s goal, but it was a stellar showing regardless.

DM: Rodri—7.6: His counter-pressing was sublime as usual but Rodri also enjoyed himself, appearing further up the pitch than usual and was unlucky not to bag his first Barça assist.

DM: Pedri—7.8: Phenomenal at bypassing the pressure from deep and he exploited the space Racing granted him, creating chances in bunches, including the one that led to Raphinha’s penalty.

RW: Lamine Yamal—8.9: Missed a penalty, got denied by the post and then later by the offside flag. He finally tapped-in his goal late to go along with his two assists.

AM: Dani Olmo—8.5: It was an Olmo masterclass from the start, finding every pocket of space in the final third to seemingly spend the entire game unmarked. Collected an assist and created the most chances of any player on the pitch in his best showing of the term.

LW: Karim Adeyemi—9.1: His speed and technical ability was simply too much to handle for Racing defenders, who were always a step too late to get a grip on the German. He won two penalties and got an assist in the best showing of his young Barça career. Must get to work on his finishing.

ST: Raphinha—9.7: Bagged his first hat-trick of the term in yet another sensational attacking performance. He now leads the Pichichi race with nine goals in six league games and has 11 in seven to start the campaign. Otherworldly.

SUB: Wojciech Szczęsny (46’ for J. García)—4.9: Tangled himself up with the ball and gifted Racing their second of the night in what was nothing short of an embarrassing mistake.

SUB: Gavi (61’ for Pedri)—6.7: Completed all 27 passes he attempted and was constantly involved in his cameo.

SUB: Marc Bernal (61’ for Rodri)—6.3: Looked somewhat erratic, misplacing routine passes which is becoming a bit of a trend lately.

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (69’ for Raphinha)—7.0: Made the most of his cameo to score his second in Barça colors with a sweet first-time finish.

SUB: Alejandro Balde (78’ for Cancelo)—6.3: Got a standing ovation in his season debut and should’ve bagged an assist had Adeyemi been more clinical.

Subs not used: Dominik Livaković (GK), Xavi Espart, Pau Cubarsí, Jules Koundé, Anthony Gordon, Fermín López.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Dani Olmo, João Cancelo — Dani Olmo (top) and João Cancelo stole the show. | Pedro Salado/Getty Images

João Cancelo saw his place in the lineup threatened by Xavi Espart and delivered a magnificent performance in his first La Liga start of the campaign. The Portuguese will likely have the edge as the starting left back in big games, but competition at the position will only intensify with Alejandro Balde also getting his first minutes of the term.
Both Dani Olmo and Karim Adeyemi have started the season playing second-fiddle to Fermín López and Anthony Gordon respectively, but the pair started and were brilliant on Wednesday, making their case to challenge for even more minutes moving forward. Competition for places all over Barça’s XI continues to intensify.
Joan García left the game at halftime after apparently injuring himself after slipping while trying to collect the ball behind his goal late in the first half. Barcelona better hope his withdrawal was precautionary because Szczęsny made it clear he’s no longer a safe alternative to start consistently. If García is forced to miss time, then summer recruit Dominik Livaković could challenge the veteran for playing time.

The Numbers That Explain Barça’s Merciless Rout

Lamine Yamal had three goal contributions. | Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona manufactured a simply ridiculous xG of 4.58 in the first half alone, registering 19 shots in total to Racing’s two.
The Catalans had 18 corners to Racing’s zero yet none of the goals they scored came from corners.
Hansi Flick’s side finished the game with an xG of 6.65, the most of any team in Europe’s top-five leagues so far this season.
The hosts had 64 touches in the opposition box—that’s greater than the 45 passes Racing completed inside Barça’s half.
Barcelona could’ve easily eclipsed the 10-goal barrier as they ended up missing seven of the 12 big chances they created on the night.

Statistic	Barcelona	Racing Santander
Posession	69%	31%
Expected Goals (xG)	6.65	1.86
Total Shots	30	5
Shots on Target	9	3
Big Chances	12	3
Pass Accuracy	91%	79%
Fouls	10	13
Corners	18	0

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