Raphinha caught the ball and planted it on the penalty spot. With the captain’s armband sheathed on his left arm he looked up, cocked his leg and landed a sharp, hard and tight shot. An unappealable shot to unblock Barça at a key moment of the match in Mallorca and who knows if of the season. Because this transformed Raphinha is capital at all times. The most stable value of the template. The most reliable striker. The one who never stops working, pushing and sweating. The true untouchable by Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian complies with the cardinal values of the German coach’s catechism. Intensity, verticality and voracity. In Palma he not only scored the penalty but scored the team’s third by scoring a surgeon’s serve from Lamine Yamal at the far post. The pass was unbeatable but so was the unmarking and knowing where I had to be. Raphinha has already scored three doubles this season for a total of 16 goals, 11 of them in the championship.
On the day that the coach decided to sit Robert Lewandowski for the entire match, Raphinha emerged as the leader of the Blaugrana offensive and was chosen as the best player of the match.
“I am living my best moment, but I want to give much more to this shield”
He has participated in all the games of the campaign and has started in 20 of the 21 games. He only started on the bench in Pamplona, where the coach put together an experimental eleven that bit the dust. Since then he has accumulated 12 consecutive starts. From discussed to indisputable. From transferable to vital, Raphinha has turned his situation at Barcelona around. It has taken him more than two seasons to finally play and he doesn’t want to go back to the previous situation for anything in the world. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t let up. He always goes for everything.
The Brazilian may be the next to rest but the game at Villamarín on Saturday does not invite many rotations, especially after having squandered a lot of advantage in the League. “I had also thought about leaving him on the bench because he takes a lot of minutes but he is very good,” Flick acknowledged after the game. Because it’s not just the goals but the faith, the will and even the charisma. Who was going to say it. He wouldn’t have believed it himself.
“It wasn’t our best game but we needed to win and we did.”
Raphinha, Koundé, Pedri and Cubarsí have been present in all the games but in the championship the one who has spent the most minutes on the pitch is the striker.
“I may be living my best moment, it’s true, but I don’t want to stop here. I want to do a lot more for this shield. I have great love for this club and everything I can give on the pitch, I will give,” said Raphinha, who valued the victory above all his goals. “It wasn’t our best game but the most important thing was to win and we did that. “We knew the importance of winning again.” Add and continue for Raphinha, the signing of the season.
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