Raphinha leading high-scoring Barcelona, says players are hungry for goals

MADRID (AP) — After Barcelona biggest win of the season, Raphinha said Barcelona players are hungry for goals and will keep pushing for more.

Barcelona routed Racing Santander 7-2 in the Spanish league on Wednesday for its seventh win in seven matches in all soccer competitions — its best start to a season, the club said.It was Barcelona's fifth win by five goals or more, and only once it hasn't scored at least four times.

“The players have the hunger to always want more,” Raphinha said. "It’s a mentality to always try to score more goals and to create more scoring opportunities.”

Barcelona has outscored opponents 33-7 so far, with Raphinha having scored a third of those goals. The Brazil forward had a hat trick on Wednesday. Of his 11 goals, nine came in the Spanish league, where he is the scoring leader.

“It’s always important to keep in mind that you need to improve in some areas. I’ll never say I’m at my peak, because I always try to improve as much as I can," Raphinha said. “There’s surely something more I can contribute to the team than what I’m currently giving.”

Lamine Yamal, Gabriel Jesus and João Cancelo also scored for Barcelona on Wednesday. There was also an own-goal in favor of the Catalan club.

Barcelona's next game is at Sevilla on Saturday. Coach Hansi Flick said the game won't be “anything but easy ... We have to be ready.”

“It’s always good to start well, but what matters is how you finish," Flick added. "It gives us confidence, and I like the momentum and the intensity. Everyone presses, everyone is involved. How we work as a team is crucial.”

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