Raphinha continued his remarkable goalscoring form with a brace as Barcelona opened their Champions League campaign in emphatic fashion, demolishing Feyenoord 5-1 on Wednesday.
The Brazilian winger struck twice, while Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and substitute Gabriel Jesus were also on target as Hansi Flick’s side produced a dominant performance against their Dutch visitors.
Raphinha opened the scoring after just three minutes, showing impressive pace and sharpness to break into the box before cutting inside and firing past the Feyenoord defence on a rain-soaked pitch.
Barcelona quickly took control of the contest, with Adeyemi doubling their advantage with a superb long-range effort that curled beyond Feyenoord goalkeeper Tjark Ernst.
The visitors attempted to respond, with Anis Hadj Moussa forcing Joan Garcia into a save at the near post, but Barcelona continued to create openings.
Joao Cancelo came close to adding a third after beating Givairo Read before crashing his effort against the outside of the post.
Raphinha eventually got his second before the hour mark, running onto a perfectly weighted through-ball from Pedri and calmly slotting the ball into the net to further underline his growing influence in attack.
Feyenoord briefly thought they had pulled one back when Nacho Ferri found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
Yamal then extended Barcelona’s lead with a free-kick that crept through the wall, marking his first direct free-kick goal for the club.
Feyenoord sent on Shaqueel van Persie, the 19-year-old son of former Netherlands international Robin van Persie, as they searched for a way back into the game.
The Dutch side eventually found a consolation goal through Sem Steijn, who escaped Jules Kounde before finishing from Goncalo Borges’ dangerous low cross.
Barcelona, however, had the final say as substitute Gabriel Jesus completed the rout with a glancing header from Yamal’s cross, scoring his first goal since joining the Catalan giants from Arsenal this summer.
The emphatic victory extended Barcelona’s perfect start to the season, with Flick’s side having now won all five of their matches across competitions.
Raphinha has been particularly influential since moving into a more central attacking role following changes to Barcelona’s forward line. The Brazil international has now scored eight goals in five games, quickly establishing himself as one of the team’s most dangerous attacking outlets.
Speaking after the match, Raphinha said Barcelona had produced a strong performance in front of their home supporters.
“Playing in front of our fans we always have to show perfect football, or nearly perfect,” the Barcelona captain told Movistar.
He acknowledged that the team’s excellent start had boosted confidence but warned that a long season would inevitably bring difficult moments.
“In a season as long as this, there are many ups and downs,” Raphinha said.
“Starting the season like this obviously gives us a lot of confidence and we have to continue like this.”
For Barcelona, who last won the Champions League in 2015, the 5-1 victory represents an early statement of intent as they begin their latest pursuit of European glory.
