Raphinha scores first Champions League goal of season for FC Barcelona

Raphinha put FC Barcelona on the board in the Champions League on September 9, netting the club’s first goal of their European campaign in a home match against Feyenoord. The strike at Spotify Camp Nou was less a surprise and more a continuation of what’s been a scorching start to the 2026-27 season for the Brazilian forward.

Entering the match, Raphinha had already bagged six goals in four La Liga appearances. That’s a pace previously matched by only one player in the last two decades at Barcelona: Lionel Messi.

A season that keeps escalating

Barcelona’s early-season form has been, to put it mildly, absurd. The club tallied 17 goals while conceding just two across its first four league fixtures. That works out to more than four goals per game.

Raphinha has been the engine of that attack. Under coach Hansi Flick, the 29-year-old has shifted into a more central striking role, a tactical tweak that’s unlocked a different dimension of his game.

His total record now stands at 81 goals and 56 assists in 181 appearances for the club.

From uncertainty to the captain’s armband

Raphinha’s arc at Barcelona reads like a redemption story. He arrived from Leeds United in 2022 with high expectations, then spent stretches fighting for a starting spot as the club juggled Financial Fair Play constraints and an ever-rotating cast of attacking talent.

The 2024-25 season changed everything. Raphinha became a central figure in a campaign that ended with a domestic treble, cementing himself as one of the most important players in the squad. The reward for that consistency: a captain’s armband for the 2026-27 season.

Flick’s tactical evolution has been the other critical variable. The German coach recognized that Raphinha’s movement, pressing intensity, and finishing ability were being somewhat wasted out wide. Moving him into a more central position has created mismatches that opponents simply haven’t been able to solve through four league games and now a Champions League match.

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