Raphinha can do it all! Barcelona smash SEVEN past Real Valladolid as Brazil star nets three and gets two assists to put Real Madrid on red alert amid perfect La Liga

Barcelona maintained their strong start to the season and hardly broke a sweat to outclass Valladolid on a sunny afternoon at the Montjuic. Hansi Flick's men dominated possession right from the first whistle and it was a matter of when and not if they would score.

Within just 20 minutes, Raphinha got the first goal after Pau Cubarsi floated a lovely long ball over the defence. The Brazilian chested it down before squeezing it past Karl Hein between the sticks. Four minutes later, Robert Lewandowski joined the party and scored in a similar fashion after Lamine Yamal played an inch-perfect long ball for the Polish striker.

Despite taking a healthy 2-0 lead in the match, Barcelona refused to take their feet off the gas and continued to raid Valladolid's defence. They were rewarded with the third goal before half-time with Jules Kounde getting on the scoresheet following a corner kick.

There were hardly any changes in proceedings in the second half as the Barcelona forwards continued to rule the roost. Raphinha scored twice in a span of eight minutes to complete his hat-trick with Yamal setting up his third with a defence-splitting through ball. Dani Olmo had a superb evening and after being denied by the woodwork earlier in the match, he scored the sixth of his team in the 82nd minute before Ferran Torres made it 7-0.

It was Raphinha's first hat trick across all competitions in Europe's top-five leagues and it was for the second time he finished with two or more goals for Barcelona.

Raphinha was undoubtedly the star of the match. Whatever he touched turned to gold in the 90 minutes and after completing his hat trick, he fired in two assists for Omo & Torres respectively. A simply outstanding performance which might be the turning point of his career in Spain.

Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein had an afternoon to forget. He looked nervy between the sticks and could have done much better in stopping a few of those goals. He was beaten by power on at least two occasions before Raphinha nutmegged him to complete his hat-trick. Things could have been worse but for the woodwork, which saved his skin a couple of times.

Barcelona would be buoyant after this incredible performance as they head into the international break in the No. 1 position in La Liga standings. They return to action against Girona on September 15 away from home.