Now unbeaten in their last nine league games, Barcelona are building some impressive momentum following a rocky first half of the season. On MD30, they faced newly promoted Las Palmas, who are making an impression on La Liga fans in their first season back in the top division. After a first-half which saw the sending off of Las Palmas keeper Alvaro Valles, eventually Barca made the numerical advantage count as Joao Felix played a delicate chipped ball over the Las Palmas defence to play in Raphinha for an easy header. This resulted in a narrow 1-0 win for Barcelona.
It has been an injury-hit season for the former Leeds United forward, who completed a full 90 minutes for only the third time this season, after finding himself on the bench on many occasions as well as sidelined through injury. Scoring his fifth league goal of the season and sixth overall, Raphinha will be hoping to continue to make an impact in Xavi Hernandez’s side as the La Liga giants aim to close the 8 point gap between them and league leaders Real Madrid.
Speaking to Spanish media after the game, Xavi emphasised the importance of the Brazilian’s role in the team:
“Raphinha is so dynamic that he can play in all attacking positions. He also plays with a lot of intensity, he gives us a lot. I don’t think talking about whether he is a starter or non-starter is important for us, he is a very important footballer for our team. He was outstanding in many matches throughout the season, and today was no different.”
With the second La Liga Clasico only a matter of weeks away, Barcelona will be wanting to keep these good performances going ahead of a potential title deciding fixture.
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