B1 · IntermediateAdapted from El País

Raphinha Hat-Trick: Barça Comeback Stuns Sevilla

Hat-trick de Raphinha: remontada del Barça ante el Sevilla

Sep 19, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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El Barcelona ganó 3-1 al Sevilla en el estadio Sánchez Pizjuán. El equipo azulgrana sigue en un gran momento: lleva siete victorias en la Liga y una en la Champions. En este partido de alto nivel, el protagonista fue el brasileño Raphinha.

Pero en el minuto 21, Raphinha empató el partido. En la segunda parte, el Barcelona fue muy superior. Raphinha marcó dos goles más, en los minutos 51 y 68, y completó un hat-trick impresionante.

Con estos tres goles, Raphinha ya tiene 12 en la Liga y es el máximo goleador del campeonato. El capitán del equipo demostró una gran efectividad y lideró la remontada del Barcelona ante un Sevilla que no pudo reaccionar.

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Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often default to the present perfect ('has scored') or simple past ('scored') without realizing that Spanish sports reports rely heavily on the pretérito indefinido for completed past actions. In English, you might say 'Raphinha has scored two more goals,' but in Spanish, 'Raphinha marcó dos goles más' is the norm. Remember: the pretérito indefinido is the default narrative tense for finished events, not the present perfect. English uses 'was superior' or 'were stronger' with no distinction between inherent traits and temporary states, but Spanish forces you to choose between 'ser' and 'estar.' For evaluations like 'Barcelona was far superior,' you must use 'ser' (fue superior) because it's a judgment of inherent quality, not a passing mood. Using 'estuvo superior' would sound odd, as if their superiority were a temporary condition. English speakers might try to translate 'pressed' with 'presionaron' but forget that Spanish verbs often require a direct object or specific preposition. 'Presionar' can be used intransitively like 'presionaron con energía,' but in other contexts, you need 'presionar a alguien.' Also, 'reaccionar' is followed by 'a' or 'ante,' not a direct object, so 'no pudo reaccionar' works, but 'no pudo reaccionar el gol' is wrong. Watch out for these prepositional differences.

Key vocabulary

ganarv.
to win, to beat
“El Barcelona ganó 3-1 al Sevilla.”— Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1.
Pattern ganar a alguien: to defeat someone
Compare vencer: to defeat
gané, ganaste, ganó, ganamos, ganaron
💡 ganar can also mean "to earn money", as in ganar dinero; context distinguishes the meaning
victoriaf.
victory
“Lleva siete victorias en la Liga.”— They have seven victories in the league.
Pattern siete victorias: seven victories
Compare triunfo: victory
plural victorias
💡 from Latin victoria, cognate with English victory
protagonistam./f.
protagonist, key player
“El protagonista fue el brasileño Raphinha.”— The protagonist was the Brazilian Raphinha.
Pattern el protagonista del partido: the protagonist of the match
Compare figura: figure
plural protagonistas
💡 from Greek protagonists, originally meaning "first actor"
empatarv.
to tie, to equalize
“Raphinha empató el partido en el minuto 21.”— Raphinha equalized the match in the 21st minute.
Pattern empatar el partido: to equalize the match
Compare igualar: to equalize
empaté, empataste, empató, empatamos, empataron
💡 the prefix em- means "to put into", pata originally meant "draw", associated with "tying the score"
superioradj.
superior, dominant
“El Barcelona fue muy superior en la segunda parte.”— Barcelona was far superior in the second half.
Pattern ser muy superior: to be far superior to the opponent
Compare mejor: better
plural superiores
💡 cognate with English superior, comparative form, note the stress on -or
goleadorm.
top scorer, goal scorer
“Es el máximo goleador del campeonato.”— He is the top scorer of the championship.
Pattern máximo goleador: top scorer
Compare anotador: scorer
plural goleadores, feminine goleadora
💡 from gol (goal) + -eador (agent suffix), meaning "the one who scores goals"
remontadaf.
comeback, turnaround
“Raphinha lideró la remontada del Barcelona.”— Raphinha led Barcelona's comeback.
Pattern liderar la remontada: to lead the comeback
Compare vuelta: turnaround
plural remontadas
💡 from the verb remontar (to come back), re- means "again", montar means "to rise"
efectividadf.
effectiveness, efficiency
“El capitán demostró una gran efectividad.”— The captain showed great effectiveness.
Pattern gran efectividad: very high effectiveness
Compare eficacia: efficiency
plural efectividades
💡 from the adjective efectivo (effective), -idad is a noun suffix
presionarv.
to press, to put pressure on
“El Sevilla presionó con energía y vigor.”— Sevilla pressed with energy and vigor.
Pattern presionar con energía: to press with energy
Compare apretar: to press tightly
presioné, presionaste, presionó, presionamos, presionaron
💡 from the noun presión (pressure), in sports it often means "to press"
reaccionarv.
to react, to respond
“El Sevilla no pudo reaccionar.”— Sevilla could not react.
Pattern no poder reaccionar: to be unable to respond
Compare responder: to respond
reaccioné, reaccionaste, reaccionó, reaccionamos, reaccionaron
💡 re- means "again", acción means "action", associated with "acting again, i.e. reacting"

Grammar spotlight

Pretérito indefinido (simple past)

The pretérito indefinido is used to describe completed actions in the past, and it is common in sports reports to narrate match events. Regular -ar verbs are conjugated as -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron; -er/-ir verbs as -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron.

“Raphinha marcó dos goles más y completó un hat-trick impresionante.”— Raphinha scored two more goals and completed an impressive hat-trick.

⚠️ Do not confuse the pretérito indefinido with the present perfect; use the pretérito indefinido for finished match events.

ser + adjective for evaluation

ser + adjective is used to make essential evaluations of people or things. In sports contexts, ser superior means 'clearly stronger,' and ser intenso means 'aggressive in pressing.' Note that ser is used for inherent characteristics, while estar is used for temporary states.

“El Barcelona fue muy superior en la segunda parte.”— Barcelona were far superior in the second half.

⚠️ estar can also describe temporary performance in a match, but ser superior emphasizes superiority in quality and should not be replaced.

Sentence patterns to steal

El equipo azulgrana sigue en un gran momento: lleva siete victorias en la Liga y una en la Champions.
The azulgrana team is in great form: seven wins in the league and one in the Champions League.
seguir en un gran momento: llevar + number + nounYou can replace the sport and the number, e.g. lleva cinco victorias en casa.
El Barcelona sufrió mucho porque el Sevilla presionó con energía y vigor.
Barcelona struggled a lot because Sevilla pressed with energy and vigor.
sufrir mucho porque + clause (reason)sufrir can be replaced with tener dificultades, and presionar with atacar.
Con estos tres goles, Raphinha ya tiene 12 en la Liga y es el máximo goleador del campeonato.
With these three goals, Raphinha now has 12 in the league and is the top scorer of the competition.
Con + noun, subject + ya tiene + number + y es el/la máximo/a + noungoles can be replaced with puntos/asistencias, and máximo goleador with mejor jugador.
El capitán del equipo demostró una gran efectividad y lideró la remontada del Barcelona.
The team captain showed great effectiveness and led Barcelona's comeback.
demostrar + noun + y liderar + nounefectividad can be replaced with paciencia, and remontada with victoria.

The 'Hat-Trick' Culture in Spanish Football

In Spanish football, when a player scores three goals in a single match, it is called a 'hat-trick,' and Spanish directly borrows the term. A player who completes a hat-trick can usually take the match ball home as a souvenir. Raphinha also scored three goals earlier against Racing, showing his excellent scoring ability.

Source: Wikipedia/Royal Spanish Football Federation

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