BRAZIL WINGER RAPHINHA scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Real Valladolid 7-0 on Saturday to make it four wins from four in La Liga under new coach Hansi Flick. While bitter rivals Real Madrid have stumbled early following the much-trumpeted arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona are off to a flying start despite their continued financial difficulties. They are also missing Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Ronald Araujo but have a maximum 12 points heading into the international break, leaving them seven clear of Madrid who face Real Betis on Sunday. Raphinha opened the scoring for Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium on 20 minutes as he chested down a pass from Pau Cubarsi and flicked elegantly into the far corner with the outside of his left boot. Robert Lewandowski soon doubled the lead when he latched onto a ball through from Lamine Yamal and squeezed a shot past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein, on loan from Arsenal. Jules Kounde made it three before half-time when a corner dropped to the France defender inside the area and he stabbed into the top corner while off-balance. Raphinha had a simple tap-in from close range just past the hour, with Lewandowski and Yamal involved before the ball broke kindly for the Brazilian. He completed his treble on 72 minutes following a brilliant burst forward from Yamal, who then slid through a delightful pass for Raphinha to stroke home. Dani Olmo, who got the winner midweek at Rayo Vallecano, on his debut, struck with his final touch after twice hitting the post and having a goal disallowed for offside. The Spain international danced past a series of defenders and rolled in Barcelona’s sixth. Raphinha rounded off a glittering performance with the assist for Ferran Torres as Barcelona hit a seventh, fizzing in a cross from the left for the substitute to steer home in clinical fashion. Atletico snatched a 1-0 victory away to Athletic Bilbao as Angel Correa scored in stoppage time to send Diego Simeone’s side up to second, four points adrift of Barcelona. ***** Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said Saturday’s 3-2 loss in the Bundesliga to RB Leipzig, who came back from 2-0 down, was “not a good sign” for the reigning champions. Xabi Alonso with his Bayer Leverkusen players. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Last season’s unbeaten league and cup winners Leverkusen lost their first Bundesliga match since May 2023, a run of 35 games. Leverkusen looked on course for a comfortable win late in the first half with a two-goal lead, playing fluent football reminiscent of last year’s title triumph. Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo scored late in the first half to give Leverkusen a 2-0 lead, but two goals from Lois Openda and one from Kevin Kampl turned the match for Leipzig. “It’s not a good sign,” said Alonso. “We need to correct that and be better.” Alonso said Leverkusen “need to improve everything” but added “I saw a lot of positive things today. “It’s hard, it’s bitter — I don’t think we deserved to lose today. “We were ready to go again in the second half but we didn’t have so much control. We have to accept the loss. It’s hard, but it’s football.” Leverkusen lost just one of 53 games in the 2023-24 season as they won the league and cup double, while going down to Atalanta in the Europa League final. Leverkusen needed to come from behind to win the German Supercup in August, and gave away a two-goal lead in last week’s Bundesliga opener at Borussia Moenchengladbach before coming back to win 3-2. ***** Romelu Lukaku. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Romelu Lukaku made an instant impact for Napoli tonight as he scored for Antonio Conte’s side in a dramatic 2-1 win over Parma in Serie A. Ange Bonny put Parma ahead in the 19th minute, with Napoli forced to wait until the 92nd minute when Lukaku levelled the game. Lukaku made the move this week from Chelsea as the 31-year-old linked up again with Conte, the pair having previously worked together for Inter Milan. And then André-Frank Zambo Anguissa fired home the winner in the 96th minute for Napoli.
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