Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Sevilla: Historic Raphinha Form Is Beyond Messi’s Level

Barcelona came from behind to defeat Sevilla 3–1 on Saturday night, thanks to yet another devastating performance from the unstoppable Raphinha.

Barcelona looked uncomfortable from the start, and it was Sevilla who opened the scoring when Félix Correia whipped a cross that was headed home by Youssouf Fofana a little under 20 minutes into the contest.

But the visitors responded three minutes later when Andreas Christensen found a charging Raphinha, who chopped inside and tucked his shot into the bottom corner to silence Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and bring Barça level.

Barcelona overcame the first half jitters and dominated the second half, with Lamine Yamal collecting a pair of assists for Raphinha to complete his second hat trick in as many games with a powerful header and a classy chip. The Brazilian now has 12 goals in seven La Liga games to start the season—simply remarkable.

The Catalans put the game on ice and were able to cruise to the finish line to go into the international break with a perfect record through eight games in all competitions to start the term. They currently hold a six point lead atop the La Liga standings with Real Madrid playing in the Madrid Derby on Sunday.

The Moment That Defined the Match

Lamine Yamal, Raphinha — Lamine Yamal (left) and Raphinha took the game over in the second half. | Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona were beyond unsettled for much of the match, and Sevilla looked the most dangerous side for long stretches of the first half. Although there was slight improvement coming out of the break, the visitors couldn’t find a way to grab the lead.

The answer to end the frustrations was, of course, the superstar duo of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha taking over.

Barcelona’s No. 10 controlled a rebound near the edge of the penalty area, turned, and his dancing feet allowed him to get away from three markers to float a cross back into the heart of the box, where Raphinha appeared in the air to hammer home his brace to finally complete Barça’s comeback.

If the result was in doubt after that, the duo combined again to add a third later in the second half to clinch the three points. It was a nervy start for Barcelona at Seville, but the moment their exceptional attackers decided to take over, there was nothing the hosts could do to contain the onslaught.

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

Lamine Yamal was marked aggressively. | Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Dominik Livacović—6.6: Victorious debut at his new club in what was far from a busy night for the Croatia international. Little he could do to stop Fofana’s powerful header.

RB: Eric García—7.7: Didn’t get tight enough on Correia and allowed him time and space to whip a cross that resulted in Sevilla’s first. Had a much more confident and mature second half.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.3: Punished for his passiveness as he didn’t attack the ball and allowed Fofana to beat him to the ball to score the opener. His distribution from the back was excellent as usual.

CB: Andreas Christensen—7.7: Exceptional defensively and showed his quality on the ball when he threaded a perfect line-breaking pass to assist Raphinha’s equalizer. Unfortunately for him, he had to exit the game injured in the second half.

LB: João Cancelo—7.3: The star from the midweek spectacle against Racing Santander didn’t shine as brightly on Saturday, failing to make any significant impact.

DM: Rodri—8.3: Had to intervene multiple times in a state of defensive emergency, none more important than when he barely got a foot in to dispossess Correia, who would’ve been one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the final action of the first half. Tidy in possession and exceptional defensively.

DM: Pedri—8.1: Slightly overwhelmed at first but settled and ran the show in the second half, creating four chances and quarterbacking his team’s attack.

RW: Lamine Yamal—9.1: The post denied him of an early screamer but he teased and probed whenever he had the chance. Relished the jeers directed at him from the stands, angering a few Sevilla players in the process. Took over in the second half and collected two assists.

AM: Fermín López—6.9: Matched Sevilla’s high energy and was key to Barça’s recovery efforts high up the pitch, but he couldn’t really get much going in the final third.

LW: Anthony Gordon—7.1: Had a few bright moments, but it’s starting to become clear that he’s overly eager to score his first Barça goal. Missed a sitter and was withdrawn soon after.

ST: Raphinha—9.7: Second-straight game with a hat trick to continue his sensational start to the season. He’s arguably the best player in the world at the moment, even if he isn’t among the Ballon d'Or nominees.

SUB: Gerard Martín (59’ for Christensen)—7.2: Expertly dealt with transitions during his cameo, anticipating passes and using his body to avoid potentially dangerous actions.

SUB: Dani Olmo (76’ for López)—7.0: Squared Gordon for a tap-in but was denied of an easy assist.

SUB: Karim Adeyemi (77’ for Raphinha)—6.3: A stellar dribble saw a defender fall to the ground, but he was unable to get his shot past the goalkeeper.

SUB: Marc Bernal (86’ for Pedri)—N/A

SUB: Gabriel Jesús (86’ for Gordon)—N/A

Subs not used: Wojciech Szczęsny (GK), Íker Rodríguez (GK), Alejandro Balde, Jules Koundé, Gavi, Xavi Espart, Hamza Abdelkarim.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Andreas Christensen’s strong start of the season continued. | Irina R. Hipolito/Europa Press/Getty Images

Andreas Christensen has now started three of Barcelona’s most recent four games and looks back to the level he displayed during his first season at the club in 2022–23. After making just 13 appearances a season ago, the Dane has featured in all but one game this term. It looked like he usurped a starting role from Gerard Martín, but an injury in the second half threatens to halt his progress.
What Raphinha is producing to start the season is historic. He’s the first Barcelona player in history—including Lionel Messi—to score 12 goals in the first seven league goals of the term. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Echeverria in 1942 have had better goalscoring starts to a La Liga season in the history of the division. Who knew Barcelona already had the best No. 9 in the world in-house.
Lamine Yamal’s five-game scoring run is over, but he was still at the heart of everything that went right for Barça, bagging another two assists. The teenager created the most chances, had the most touches in the opposition box and took the most shots. He’s up to 14 goal contributions in all competitions this season, well on his way to his highest output in a single campaign.

The Numbers That Explain Barça’s Second Half Rout

After registering an xG of 0.45 in the first half, Barcelona slammed the accelerator and finished the game with an xG of 3.26.
Barcelona created five clear chances in the second half, meanwhile Sevilla had essentially nothing going in attack, producing just 0.06 xG.
Barcelona completed 180 passes inside Sevilla’s halfway line in the final 45 minutes, which is more than twice as many as the 70 total passes the hosts completed in the second half.
Raphinha is up to 12 La Liga goals through seven games this season, just one fewer than his total from last term.

Statistic	Sevilla	Barcelona
Possession	30%	70%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.45	3.26
Total Shots	7	24
Shots on Target	3	7
Big Chances	1	6
Pass Accuracy	73%	90
Fouls	10	11
Corners	1	3

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