La Liga Daily Report - 2026-09-16

Raphinha scored three times as Barcelona defeated Racing Santander 7-2 at Camp Nou on Wednesday, recording a sixth consecutive La Liga victory. João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also scored for Hansi Flick’s side, while Racing’s goals came from Maguette Gueye and Yassir Zabiri. The result preserved Barcelona’s perfect league record and took Raphinha’s tally to nine goals in six matches, according to the Associated Press report carried by WSLS. Barcelona again produced a prolific attacking display, having scored at least five goals in five of their seven matches across all competitions this season.

Raphinha said he was happy with the goals but stressed that the victory mattered most, adding that the players had the hunger to keep creating chances. Yamal’s evening included a missed penalty, a disallowed goal and a late score, underlining both Barcelona’s dominance and the relentless competition for attacking places. The victory kept Barcelona ahead of Real Madrid, who had moved level on points after beating Elche on Tuesday. Flick’s team now carries substantial momentum, while Racing face the task of recovering from a heavy defeat against the league leaders and their 32-goal start to the campaign.

Real Madrid beat Elche 3-2 away on Tuesday after substitute Carlos Espí scored in the 91st minute to settle a match the visitors had nearly thrown away. Arda Güler’s free-kick led to Matías Dituro’s 25th-minute own goal, before Kylian Mbappé doubled the advantage eight minutes later from Yan Diomande’s cross. Elche responded after half-time through Abiel Osorio and Fer Niño, who equalised in the 83rd minute following a defensive mistake. Espí then combined with Jude Bellingham and Mbappé before finishing at the back post. The victory gave José Mourinho’s side 15 points from six matches, level with Barcelona.

Mourinho acknowledged that Madrid had lost control after appearing comfortable, but said the team reacted under pressure and secured the three points. Espí’s winner was his second decisive late goal of the season after a similar strike on his Madrid debut at Espanyol, despite not yet starting a match for the club. Mbappé also continued his scoring form, while Madrid’s failure to protect a 2-0 half-time lead exposed a recurring vulnerability in game management. The result maintained the champions’ pursuit of Barcelona, but Elche’s spirited recovery showed that Madrid’s early-season matches remain more difficult than their first-half advantages suggest.

La Liga president Javier Tebas criticised Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté after they partially concealed shirts supporting Ceuta before Real Madrid’s 3-2 victory at Elche on Tuesday. Players from both teams entered the Martínez Valero wearing white tops carrying the message “Todos somos caballas”, but the three Madrid players wore theirs rolled up, obscuring the slogan, and Mbappé and Vinícius removed them before the pre-match greetings concluded. The initiative had been backed by La Liga and was intended to show solidarity with Ceuta after a significant influx of migrants there in July, giving the gesture a politically sensitive context.

Mbappé later said the shirt was an institutional decision by the clubs and that he wanted to express solidarity with Ceuta and those affected. Tebas took the opposite view, arguing that the players’ participation should be understood through the club’s institutional position rather than as an individual choice. The episode has therefore moved beyond a pre-match presentation issue into a debate about players’ responsibilities when clubs and leagues promote politically sensitive messages. Manuel Pellegrini also said he had spoken with Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli after a similar controversy and welcomed the Moroccan international’s public clarification.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said Spain’s prospects of hosting the 2030 World Cup final would be “minimal or nonexistent” if Gianni Infantino were re-elected as FIFA president. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Football Summit in Madrid, Tebas described Infantino as not credible and said Spain should reconsider its position on the tournament, which it will co-host with Morocco and Portugal. The FIFA election is scheduled for next March. Tebas’s comments extended his recent criticism of football’s international leadership and placed the World Cup final question within a wider dispute over FIFA’s governance.

Tebas said Spain might need to rethink its involvement in the event, including whether to withdraw, though no such decision was announced. His intervention could create additional political pressure around the tournament’s hosting arrangements while Spain’s football authorities and clubs remain central to the country’s international sporting profile. The final venue has not been settled, and Tebas’s warning was framed as a prediction tied to the outcome of the FIFA election rather than a confirmed change. It nevertheless demonstrated how the La Liga president continues to use his office to challenge decisions beyond the domestic competition.