Leading the line and leading by example, Raphinha is central to Barca’s hot start
BARCELONA, Spain — The Spotify Camp Nou pitch resembled a slip and slide as Feyenoord duo Jeremiah St. Juste and Charles Vanhoutte went sliding across the area just three minutes into Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League game in Barcelona. As torrential rain poured down, Barça forward Raphinha feigned to shoot on his right foot before cutting inside on his left. As St. Juste and Vanhoutte exited the picture, Raphinha slotted home.
The night did not get any better for Feyenoord. The rain would soon stop, but the goals did not dry up. Raphinha scored a second, with Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and Gabriel Jesus — for the first time since signing from Arsenal last week — all on target as well. Sem Steijn did add a consolation for the Dutch side but Barça ran out convincing 5-1 winners.
It is already the fourth time this season Barça have netted five goals in a match. They have played just five games. It is early days, but there are reasons for the Spanish champions to believe this is the best chance they have had in a while to end what will be a 12-year wait to win the Champions League by the time June’s final rolls around in Madrid.
After back-to-back LaLiga titles under coach Hansi Flick, winning a sixth European Cup is increasingly an obsession in Catalonia. Leading their charge in more ways than one is the man who sent St. Juste and Vanhoutte flying: Raphinha.
The Brazil international leads the team as the newly appointed club captain — “Raphinha capitán,” chants rang around the stadium when he was substituted late on — and he now leads the line, slightly unexpectedly, as the side’s striker.
Sporting director Deco had hoped to bring in Julián Álvarez to replace the outgoing Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres this summer. After Atlético Madrid refused to negotiate a deal for the Argentina forward, though, Barça turned to Jesus as a low-cost squad option instead.
Meanwhile, Raphinha, signed as a right winger from Leeds United in 2022 and converted into a left winger, has excelled as a No. 9. Perhaps benefitting from the break provided by Brazil’s early exit from the FIFA World Cup, he has scored eight goals this season. He has netted in each of Barça five games to date, a feat not achieved since 1950, when César Rodríguez managed it, according to Pedro Martin.
In Europe he is particularly effective. He now has 28 goal contributions in the past three Champions League seasons; only Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane (29) has been directly involved in more goals in that span.
But it’s not just his numbers. It’s his work rate. Raphinha hunts down every defender, relentlessly tracks back and leads by example. He sets the standards for the other forwards. And they — including Yamal, who in different circumstances or other teams may be afforded some luxuries — follow.
“If you don’t run, you don’t win,” Yamal said before the Feyenoord game.
It was that attitude that strangled Feyenoord in the early stages on Wednesday. Flick showcased Barça’s depth by making five changes — Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen, João Cancelo, Dani Olmo and Adeyemi replaced Eric García, Gerard Martín, Xavi Espart, Fermín López and Anthony Gordon — and just three minutes were on the clock when Raphinha, set up by Yamal, opened the scoring. The pressing did not let up; the Eredivisie side not allowed to breathe.
Adeyemi added a stunning second from outside the box — his second for the club since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund — and Raphinha, whose center-forward run was superbly picked out by Pedri, made it three before the hour mark.
Nacho Ferri had a goal ruled out for offside shortly after for the visitors, but the scoring was not done. Barça were still hungry.
Yamal added the fourth via a slightly fortunate free kick. It was his 12th goal in the Champions League, moving him one shy of Kylian Mbappé‘s record of 13 in the competition as a teenager. You would imagine that record will soon fall into Yamal’s hands.
After scoring, he peeled away to celebrate with Raphinha, who had just been taken off, by the dugout.
“I know how Lamine can dip out of a game when things aren’t going well,” Raphinha said of the celebration. “I had tried to encourage him. I told him he was going to score to make sure he wouldn’t lose his focus.
“In the end, he got his goal. I was really happy for him. He needed that goal. That’s how you build a winning team — when you’re happy for one another.”
Steijn pulled one back for Feyenoord, but Barça went again. Yamal turned provider this time, delivering a pinpoint cross for Jesus to glance home. It was Yamal’s 101st goal contribution for Barça — he’s still 19 — and Barça’s 22nd goal of the season already. Not since 1950-51 (23) have they scored more at this point in a campaign.
The argument will be that bigger tests will await them. Rodri, signed from Manchester City, has improved how they control games, but how much can he improve them defensively after no new defender arrived this summer other than attacking full back Cancelo?
Those questions are for another day, perhaps. It’s easy to see why Barça might get carried away with the way Flick has his side purring in attack.
“In a season as long as this, there are many ups and downs,” Raphinha added. “Starting the season like this obviously gives us a lot of confidence. Now we have to continue like this. We have to hope the downs are as small as possible.”
Curiously, Raphinha was one of the big absentees when the 30-player shortlist was announced for the Ballon d’Or on Monday. Carry on like this and he won’t be missing next year.
“I’m not talking about the Ballon d’Or,” he said. “I’m only talking about Barcelona. We’re having a spectacular season.”