The scoreline and the test

Racing de Santander had no answer to the range of finishes as João Cancelo struck from distance, Raphinha completed his hat-trick from the spot, Gabriel Jesus scored from the bench and Lamine Yamal finished an opening made by Karim Adeyemi before Racing could adjust. The abundance covered some loose work. Maguette Gueye finished a one-touch move before the interval, Yassir Zabiri punished Wojciech Szczęsny for dawdling on the ball, and the goalkeeper later denied Racing a third after replacing the injured Joan García at half-time. Barça had led 4–1 at the break. The disruption around the goalkeeper change did not explain the clean access Racing found twice. Both goals came from avoidable moments, each easy to diagnose and hard to excuse.

An attack this productive earns stricter demands at the other end.

After Racing, Barça had scored 33 goals across their first seven matches of 2026/27: six in La Liga and the Champions League win over Feyenoord, while their seven straight wins marked the best opening since Jack Greenwell's 1915/16 side also won seven in a row. Hansi Flick, the head coach, can keep the attacking ambition. An attack this productive earns stricter demands at the other end. Longer spells in the opponent's half and cleaner protection behind the ball would turn that production into command. Barça 7–2 Racing ended with seven goals on the board and Szczęsny's recovery save still needed at the other end that night, after Racing had twice turned Barça's looseness into goals.

Barça earned the comeback by changing the supply line after feeding Sevilla's press before half-time, when Sevilla closed space, Fofana headed in Correia's cross and Dominik Livaković stopped Robbie Ure to keep the deficit at one. Andreas Christensen made Raphinha's equaliser, finished with his right foot after a backheel turn away from Sangante.

The response came through a specific adjustment rather than a general rise in effort.

The correction appeared after the restart. After going close twice, Lamine Yamal floated a cross into the six-yard box for Raphinha to dart across Sangante and head Barça in front, then held his next release until the forward could run clear beyond Rodri's break through Sevilla's first line. Raphinha's left-foot finish beat the advancing goalkeeper. Barça stopped asking the build-up to win every duel near their own area. They reached Lamine sooner and let his timing move Sevilla backwards, easing the pressure behind them while giving Raphinha room to attack a retreating line.

Raphinha's second consecutive treble was a perfect hat-trick, taking him to 12 goals in seven league appearances and leaving him as La Liga's leading scorer. The recovery of purpose after the interval was just as encouraging. This was the ground where Barça had lost last season, and Sevilla again made them uncomfortable. The response came through a specific adjustment rather than a general rise in effort. Andreas Christensen's injury prevents a clean exit from the evening. Sevilla 1–3 Barça records the comeback; the first half remains part of the match Flick has to examine.

Pere Romeu, the head coach, had an attacking rehearsal against the Liga F side who had conceded fewer goals than anyone else. Alavés stayed compact, yet Barça Femení found each opening as Patri Guijarro released Caroline Graham Hansen, Sydney Schertenleib struck from a corner and Carolina Ferrera found the top corner from distance for her first Barça goal. Later, Ewa Pajor won the ball for Clàudia Pina's first; Pina caught the goalkeeper off her line before completing her hat-trick. The variety was in the actions, not merely the names. Each goal posed a new problem.

Alavés 0–6 Barça displayed the attacking options available and offered little evidence about the direct ball waiting in the Champions League opener.

The defensive concern comes directly from Atlético Madrid, who sent two long balls behind the centre-backs and scored from both. With the regular centre-backs absent, Patri partnered Martina Fernández in defence while Schertenleib played at right-back, and an emergency intervention was needed when a turnover stretched the shape and left the patched line running towards its own goal. Alavés applied no such pressure. They were organised and stubborn, then pulled apart by a side that controlled the match from start to finish. Paris FC can study the Atlético route without learning much from the score at Mendizorrotza.

Alavés 0–6 Barça displayed the attacking options available and offered little evidence about the direct ball waiting in the Champions League opener. The next match will decide whether enough cover exists around the makeshift defence when the transition game becomes much stronger, under pressure, at speed and far from the comfort of settled possession.

The Assembly gave president Joan Laporta's board the authority it asked for and left the financial risk where it was. Delegates approved the previous season's financial statements and the budget, along with the Espai Barça financing extension and bonds guaranteed by audiovisual rights, clearing a route forward without turning the forecast into cash already earned.

The approval leaves the board responsible for the financial bet, including its costs and timing.

Revenue reached a historic milestone. The margin remained thin: the result was a net loss of 18 million euros for 2025/26 after extraordinary effects, including the impairment of Barça Produccions, while the new budget forecasts a one-million-euro profit on higher projected revenue. The board is asking members to trust a turnaround with almost no room for error. At a club this large, that surplus is barely a buffer, and a modest miss could wipe it out.

The two financing approvals deserve to remain separate in the mind, with one extending the structure around Espai Barça and the other placing audiovisual rights behind new bonds while the club waits for the completed Camp Nou to deliver what the plan assumes. Each may answer an immediate need. Treating them as a single stadium vote would hide where the exposure sits and how many revenues carry obligations.

The approval leaves the board responsible for the financial bet, including its costs and timing. There are fewer procedural obstacles and no extra protection from a delayed opening, weaker revenue or another write-down. The arithmetic now belongs to the institution that approved the plan.

Belletti's side made control count for too little. UD Logroñés B kept the centre tight on a dry artificial pitch, so Juliano Belletti's side went around them, with Aziz and Goren forcing saves after the restart before Jesse Bisiwu struck the post first time. Álex González later supplied a free kick that needed a finish. The route into danger was available, only for the final action to keep letting the move down.

The route into danger was available, only for the final action to keep letting the move down.

Barça moved higher after half-time and gave Logroñés B little in return, but two penalty appeals went unanswered after Ignasi Quer turned in the area, Mirza Catovic collected a second yellow following contact and Iker Rodríguez needed an added-time save to preserve the point. The job changed late.

The contrast with the opening home win is healthy for a young side. Against Náxara, Quer scored four in a 5–0 win as attacking intent became goals quickly. Here the pitch slowed the ball, the opponent defended deeper and the same intent needed more care at the end of each move.

La Masia development includes learning when the cross has to arrive early, when a first-time finish is on and when another pass only allows the block to reset. The width and appetite kept Barça in control for the afternoon. At full time, the scoreboard still showed 0–0 and the late save had preserved the point, after a match that had demanded patience before precision.