Barcelona's Perfect Start Survives Sevilla Scare
Barcelona’s perfect start to the La Liga season survived a serious scare in Seville, dragged over the line by a ruthless Raphinha and a coach who trusted his gut over his depth chart.
Raphinha the No 9, and the No 1 Problem for Defenders
At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Barcelona fell behind, looked flat, then found a Brazilian forward in full eruption mode.
Sevilla struck first. In the 19th minute, Youssouf Fofana punished a slack, disjointed Barcelona start, giving the home crowd exactly what it wanted: a vulnerable league leader. Flick’s side had been loose in possession, second to challenges, and Sevilla capitalised.
The response was instant.
Three minutes later, Andreas Christensen split the lines with a sharp, vertical pass. Raphinha, operating not out wide but through the middle in his new role as a central striker, took over. One touch, one finish, 1-1. The equaliser didn’t just restore parity; it jolted Barcelona awake.
This is the version of Raphinha Flick has been pushing towards since the summer exits of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres forced a rethink. Less chalk-on-his-boots winger, more roaming, aggressive No 9. It is working.
After the break, that transformation turned into a demolition. Twice, Lamine Yamal found him. Twice, Raphinha buried Sevilla.
The first after half-time came from intelligent movement and a calm finish, the second from the understanding rapidly growing between the 16-year-old creator and the 27-year-old finisher. Within 72 hours, Raphinha had completed a second hat-trick. His tally now stands at 14 goals in all competitions this season, and this one came with the added weight of a comeback away from home.
Barcelona had been poor in the first half. Raphinha made sure that didn’t matter.
Livakovic’s First Night, Flick’s First Big Call
If Raphinha stole the headlines, Dominik Livakovic quietly owned his subplot.
Handed a debut in goal, the Croatian stepped into a decision that had already raised eyebrows before a ball was kicked. Hansi Flick had hinted that Wojciech Szczesny was effectively his No 2, yet when the teams were announced, it was Livakovic standing in the tunnel.
The choice was not dressed up as the product of weeks of deep data dives or long analytical meetings.
"As you know, sometimes it’s not only about analysing everything. Sometimes it’s also about the feeling," Flick said afterwards. "I think my feeling today was like this, so I spoke with the coaches and then we made this decision."
Livakovic rewarded that instinct. He was assured with his handling, calm under pressure, and did not allow Sevilla back into the game once Barcelona had turned it around. Behind him, Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia kept things controlled, limiting Sevilla’s opportunities and helping lock down a seventh consecutive league win.
Flick was careful not to turn one selection into a saga.
"It doesn’t mean that we analysed it and decided that we don’t believe in Szczesny or anything like that," he stressed. "But for me, today, I think this was the right decision."
He doubled down on the idea that nothing is fixed.
"He was good. But in the end, it’s a decision I made, you know," Flick said. "Sometimes you see a player and you feel that this player might perhaps be the first option in this position, and you make a different decision. That’s what happened. It’s not such a big thing. This decision is only for this match."
For a club where every line-up tweak becomes a talking point, that’s a bold stance. Flick is openly leaning on intuition in a squad built on stars.
The Weight of a Loaded Bench
Seven games. Seven wins. Twenty-one points. Barcelona sit top of La Liga with a perfect record, but Flick made it clear that the hardest part of the job right now is not drawing up game plans. It’s looking to his right on matchday.
"In the end, to be honest with you, for me this is the hardest thing at the moment," he admitted. "I know everyone can be happy because we have enormous quality in the squad. But for me it’s not easy."
He listed the names he had to leave out: Gavi, Xavi Espart, Jules Kounde, Szczesny. Players who expect to start, reduced to spectators.
"When I look at the bench and see that Gavi won’t play, Xavi [Espart] can’t play, [Jules] Kounde can’t play, Szczesny can’t play, it’s not easy," he said. "It’s not easy for me either because I’m close to everyone, I’m with everyone, and still I have to make these decisions."
That closeness, he insisted, cannot cloud the bigger picture.
"In the end, that’s how it is. I’m always thinking about the team. There is nothing personal. It’s about the team. That’s why we made this decision. In the end, yes, that’s my job. But it’s not easy at the moment."
Raphinha’s hat-trick, Yamal’s assists, Livakovic’s calm debut and another three points all vindicated Flick’s calls on the night. The question now is how long he can keep a squad this stacked, this competitive, this restless, pulling in the same direction while the wins keep coming.
