Barcelona moved four points clear at the top of La Liga with a commanding victory over Sevilla, Raphinha the star of the show with a hat-trick as Hansi Flick’s side showcased their title credentials in style.
The hosts were in front inside nine minutes. Joao Cancelo burst into the box and was bundled over by Djibril Sow, leaving the referee no choice.
Raphinha stepped up and cheekily chipped the ball down the centre with Vlachodimos diving to his left.
The second penalty arrived on 19 minutes when Carmona’s sliding challenge caught the ball with his arm as Cancelo drove into the box again.
VAR confirmed the spot kick and Raphinha converted once more, this time driving it hard to the bottom left corner despite Vlachodimos getting a hand to it.
Sevilla had barely time to regroup before Dani Olmo made it three. A deflected Bernal cross fell kindly into his path on the edge of the box and the Spaniard took one touch before hammering a thunderous right-footed effort into the bottom right corner, his seventh league goal of the season.
A Sevilla goal on the stroke of half-time offered the visitors a lifeline. Juanlu Sanchez carried the ball down the right and delivered a cross to the back post, where Oso touched it down and swept it into the bottom right corner.
Any hope was extinguished within six minutes of the restart. Substitute Fermin Lopez, introduced at the break in place of Pedri, immediately made his mark, threading a perfectly weighted pass through to Raphinha on the edge of the box.
The Brazilian cut inside and struck cleanly, the ball taking a deflection off Gudelj that looped it into the top left corner beyond a helpless Vlachodimos.
Cancelo and Gavi cap the occasion
Cancelo added a fifth on 60 minutes with a moment of genuine quality, spotting space in behind the Sevilla defence, receiving from Raphinha and cutting inside to curl a left-footed finish across goal.
Sevilla grabbed a late consolation through Sow, who headed home from Oso’s inviting cross in stoppage time, but it barely registered as a footnote on what had been an utterly one-sided afternoon.
The occasion was made even more special by the late introduction of Gavi, returning from a lengthy injury absence to a standing ovation from the Camp Nou crowd.
The midfielder has missed most of the season and his cameo, brief as it was, drew an emotional response from a home support that has waited a long time to see him back.
