Raphinha comes to the fore
He is the go-to-guy for big games, he is none other than Raphael Dias Belloli. The Brazilian comes alive in major matches and he showed it once again against Newcastle. Two goals, two assists and a penalty awarded, as well as his tireless defensive contribution, saw him crowned the indisputable MVP of the match. This latest performance shows that Raphinha has put the physical issues behind him and is firing on all cylinders as the decisive part of the season comes into view.
Top level stats
The wideman's importance is not going unnoticed and his importance both in attack and defence is key for how the team sets up and play improves when the player is involved. Looking at the stats, Raphinha has 19 goals and seven assists in all competitions. That's even during a season when he missed out on quite a few games due to injury. Amazing.
In fact, Raphinha has a better goal-to-game ratio than last season, when he scored 34 in 57 games (0.59 goals per game). He has 19 this year, but that's in only 30 games (0.63 goals per game).
Raphinha the star of the show
The forward confirmed his richest vein of form of the season against Newcastle. He scored his first hat-trick of the season against Sevilla last weekend, and with his brace of goals and assists against the Magpies, Raphinha is clearly plugged in for the decisive part of the season.
This latest brace makes it five this season for the wideman after those scored against Valencia and Osasuna in LaLiga and against Athletic Club and Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.
For a final flourish regarding where he is at, Raphinha has 33 goal involvements in 33 games in the premier club competition in Europe with Barça (19 goals and 14 assists), more than any other blaugrana player in the competition since he joined for the 2022/23 season.