With an on-fire Raphinha leading its attack, Barcelona doesn’t seem to need another striker after all.
The fiercely competitive Brazilian kept up his great start to the season on Wednesday by scoring twice to lead Barcelona’s 5-1 rout over Feyenoord in their Champions League opener.
His double combined with his La Liga-leading six goals makes Raphinha the top scorer in Europe with eight.
Raphinha got going at Camp Nou just three minutes into the match when he took a pass from Lamine Yamal in the box. He used one tap to send a pair of defenders sliding the wrong way, leaving him to size up the goal and fire home.
Raphinha made it 3-0 from a pass by Pedri in the 57th, adding to a goal by Karim Adeyemi.
Substituted late, Raphinha was first out of the dugout to embrace Yamal on the touchline after the Spain star stroked in a free kick to add to the victory.
“The truth is that a season has its ups and downs, and to start this season gives us a lot of confidence,” Raphinha told Movistar Plus.
Barcelona Wanted A New Striker
(Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP via Getty Images)
The versatile Brazilian, who wears the No. 11 and combines energy and ruthless finishing like few others, was not supposed to spearhead Barcelona’s attack.
Barcelona lost both Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres in the offseason and had been after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Álvarez to replace them. It had to settle for a hurried deal to acquire Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal at the end of the transfer window. With Jesus — who went on late and scored Barcelona’s fifth on Wednesday — expected to mainly be used as a substitute, questions were raised in Barcelona if the team would have trouble scoring.
Now it looks like not spending big on another striker might have been the best non-move of a summer which saw the club add Rodri from Manchester City as well as wingers Anthony Gordon and Adeyemi.
Hansi Flick sure looked happy with his squad after a fifth win. The Barcelona coach lauded the energy that Raphinha gives his team up front, leading the press that the German insists on to quickly recovering the ball near scoring positions.
“Raphinha, we saw it today, his energy is great,” the Barcelona coach said. “We have a lot on the transition, on the counter, and when we keep the ball and wait to create situations.”
Raphinha Is Constantly Evolving
(Photo By Javier Borrego/Europa Press via Getty Images)
The 29-year-old Raphinha has successfully reinvented himself before.
He joined from Leeds in 2022 with the reputation as a hardworking, fast winger. But after Lamine Yamal erupted as its first-choice right-side player, Raphinha looked to be on his way out of the club.
Instead, Raphinha showed he could play just as well on the left side or even in an interior position. The result was explosive: 34 goals in the 2024-25 season as he helped Barcelona win La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and reach the Champions League semifinals.
Raphinha struggled with injuries last season and had his World Cup with Brazil cut short because of a hamstring pull. That likely played into him not making the 30 finalists for the Ballon d’Or that were announced on Tuesday. He finished fifth in the voting in the 2025 edition of the award.
This season, Raphinha has been a big reason why Barcelona is off to an intimidatingly good start in La Liga, where it has outscored opponents 17-2 in four rounds. That goal difference of plus 15 over the first four games is the best start in the history of the club.
When asked about not being on the Ballon d’Or list, Raphinha said he didn’t want to talk about it.
“I only talk about how Barça is having a great season,” he said.
Reporting by The Associated Press.