Five key stats from Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla

Barcelona cruised to a crucial 3-0 triumph over Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla side to increase their lead atop the La Liga standings to eight points.

Coming into the game knowing that Real Madrid had lost to Mallorca, Barça made sure to capitalise on their rivals’ slip-up and widen the gap between the two teams.

Jordi Alba opened the scoring for Barcelona in the second half before midfield prodigy Gavi doubled the advantage.

Raphinha, who had set up the second goal, then made it 3-0 in the 79th minute to secure a statement win for Xavi Hernandez’s side over Sevilla.

The Brazilian winger has come under some fire for not hitting the heights expected of him since arriving in the summer. But, in recent matches, the ex-Leeds United ace has been pulling his weight and making valuable contributions.

In 2023, Raphinha has been directly involved in eight goals in all competitions (4G, 4A) – more than any other La Liga player.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian winger also edged past Ousmane Dembele (7) to become the Barcelona player with the most assists this season in all competitions (8).

The Blaugrana played a near-faultless game, hardly offering any chances to Sevilla on the night. So, it was hardly a surprise to see the La Liga leaders emerge with yet another clean sheet – their 15th in the league this season.

In the process, Barcelona became the first team in La Liga history to register 14 wins with a clean sheet in their first 20 games of a league season.

The Catalans are now second on the list of teams to have conceded the fewest number of goals (7) after 20 league games. Only Deportivo La Coruna (6 in 1993/94) had managed to let in fewer at this stage of a league season.

With the win over Sevilla, Xavi has now levelled Pep Guardiola’s tally of 109 points from his first 46 La Liga matches in charge of Barcelona. Only Luis Enrique (112) has a greater points tally after 46 games.