Raphinha hits another hat-trick as Barcelona maintains perfect record in La Liga

Raphinha scored his second hat-trick in two matches as FC Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1 on Saturday. AP Photo

MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua/UNB) -- Raphinha scored his second hat-trick in two matches as FC Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1 on Saturday to maintain its 100 percent record at the top of La Liga.

Sevilla took the lead in the 19th minute when Youssouf Fofana headed in a cross from the left, but Raphinha made it 1-1 three minutes later, collecting a pass from Andreas Christensen before cutting inside and scoring with a cool finish.

Lamine Yamal set Raphinha up for Barcelona's second goal in the 52nd minute with a chipped cross for him to head home, and then aided the third with a pass that allowed the forward to chip goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos to make it 3-1.

Barcelona has won its opening seven matches, and the result puts pressure on both fourth-placed Atletico Madrid and second-placed Real Madrid ahead of their first derby of the season on Sunday.

Celta Vigo beat Racing Santander 5-0 just three days after Racing had conceded seven goals away to FC Barcelona.

Hugo Gonzalez broke the deadlock with a 32nd-minute penalty and Ilaix Moriba doubled the lead before halftime. Miguel Roman and two goals from Pablo Duran rounded off a comfortable win for the home side, while again highlighting Racing's defensive woes.

Ante Budimir scored an acrobatic volley to put Osasuna 1-0 up at home to Rayo Vallecano, but Sergio Camello saved a point for Rayo, who had more possession and more chances throughout the match.

Athletic Bilbao and Alaves drew 0-0 in a match where the home side had a penalty saved by Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.

A 10-man Elche side upset Espanyol 3-1 on Friday despite playing for 85 minutes after defender Federico Redondo was sent off.

Two goals in three minutes from Fer Nino put Elche 2-0 up. Although a Victor Chust own goal with 18 minutes left gave Espanyol hope, German Varela soon snuffed it out with Elche's third goal to secure its first win of the season.