MADRID (AP) — Raphinha is about to cap his best season for Barcelona with the Spanish league title.
Lamine Yamal has been getting most of the attention as Barcelona moves closer to lifting the trophy, but Raphinha has been just as important for the Catalan club in its title run.
Barcelona can clinch its 28th league title if Real Madrid fails to beat Mallorca at home on Wednesday, or if it beats Espanyol in the Barcelona derby on Thursday. Barcelona came from behind to defeat Madrid 4-3 in the last “clasico” of the season on Sunday — with a double by Raphinha — to open a seven-point lead over its rival with three matches remaining.
The 28-year-old Raphinha is having his breakthrough season with Barcelona, being decisive in big matches and putting up career-high numbers in terms of goals and assists. He scored five of the 16 goals scored by Barcelona in the four “clasico” matches that it won against Madrid this season.
“I demand a lot of myself and I’m a player who wants to be doing his very best all the time,” Raphinha said. “I’ve been working hard for these moments and I’ve tried to find my best version ever since I arrived at this club. I’ve always said that I came here to try to write my name in the history of this club.”
His performances have already helped Barcelona win the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, when he scored twice in a 5-2 final against Madrid. Raphinha also was key in a 4-0 rout of Madrid in a Spanish league match at the Santiago Bernabeu, when he had a goal and an assist.
Raphinha has scored 34 goals for Barcelona this season, more than tripling his previous tallies. The Brazil forward scored only 10 goals in each of his first two seasons after joining the Catalan club from Leeds United.
He is the second top scorer for Barcelona behind Robert Lewandowski, who has 40 goals so far. Raphinha led the team with 13 goals in the Champions League before it was eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals. The Brazilian has scored 18 goals in the league, and in addition to his double in the Spanish Super Cup, he also scored once in the Copa del Rey.
Raphinha has also been prolific with his assists, with 22 in 52 appearances this season. He had a total of 23 in the last two seasons combined.
Only Yamal has more assists than Raphinha in the Spanish league, with 12 against the nine by the Brazilian. The two have teamed up to near perfection and with the help of the likes of Lewandowski, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, Barcelona is set to celebrate yet another league title.
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