Raphinha scored his second hat-trick in as many matches as Barcelona secured a comfortable victory over Sevilla and extended their lead at the top of La Liga.
The Brazilian continued his outstanding form at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, taking his tally to 14 goals in all competitions this season after also netting three times in Barcelona’s 7-2 win over Racing Santander.
Sevilla took the lead in the 19th minute when Felix Correia delivered a cross to the near post for Youssouf Fofana to head home.
However, Barcelona responded just three minutes later.
Raphinha cut inside before calmly placing his finish beyond goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Lamine Yamal played a crucial role in the second half, setting up Raphinha’s second goal in the 52nd minute with a perfectly placed cross for the former Leeds winger to head in.
The teenager provided another assist in the 69th minute, threading a superb pass through to Raphinha, who completed his hat-trick with a delicate chip over Vlachodimos.
The victory marked Barcelona’s seventh consecutive league win and their eighth in all competitions.
They moved onto 21 points, six clear of Real Madrid and Real Betis, although they have played one game more.
Sevilla remain fifth with 13 points.
