A Raphinha hat-trick at Camp Nou on Wednesday took Barcelona’s start to seven wins from seven, and it moved Hansi Flick past every predecessor on the Barcelona bench. The 7-2 win over Racing Santander made Flick the first Barcelona coach to win the club’s opening seven competitive matches of a season, according to Reuters.
Across those seven fixtures Barcelona have scored 33 goals and conceded seven, the numbers Bill Connelly leans on in placing them first on his continental power ranking. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have combined for 19 goals and seven assists across all competitions.
The German coach was pleased with the front-foot attitude, less pleased with two goals conceded to a much-changed Racing side.
“I like the team’s bravery, and that we’ve stayed focused,” Flick told reporters after the match.
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“When we’re less brave, the opposition creates danger and scores goals.”
Arsenal second, and ESPN says quality of opponent matters
The ranking has Arsenal in second and argues that, adjusted for the strength of opposition, Mikel Arteta’s side would take top spot. Their opening list of names is heavier than Barcelona’s: a 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield on 16 August, then a 2-1 comeback against Chelsea at the Emirates on 6 September, where Morgan Rogers put the visitors ahead inside two minutes before Kai Havertz equalised and Martin Ødegaard scored the winner five minutes into the second half.
Arsenal have kept their perfect Premier League start going since. A 2-0 win at Sunderland on 12 September left them alone at the top of the table, and the club’s unbeaten competitive run now stretches back to the Champions League final in May, when they drew 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain over 120 minutes before losing 4-3 on penalties. The reigning Premier League champions have not lost a competitive fixture since.
PSG third after Ligue 1 stumbles
The defending European champions sit third on the list, and the uneven form is the reason. Luis Enrique’s PSG lost 2-1 at home to Monaco on 4 September, drew 2-2 with Rennes and 2-2 with Lille in Ligue 1, then produced their biggest statement of the season five days later.
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Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick as PSG beat Slovan Bratislava 6-1 at the Parc des Princes in the opening Champions League game, with Ousmane Dembélé adding two goals inside six first-half minutes and Fabián Ruiz closing the scoring in the 87th.
Luis Enrique himself is not moving. The Spaniard signed a contract extension until 2030 on 4 September, hours before the Monaco defeat, part of a package of six renewals also covering João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Willian Pacho, Lucas Beraldo and Senny Mayulu.
Brighton and Sevilla before the international break
Both sides are back in action before the international break. Arsenal play at Brighton on Saturday 19 September at 4pm local time; Barcelona travel to Sevilla later the same day, kick-off 7pm local time, according to LaLiga’s own fixture list.
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