Without a shadow of a doubt, FC Barcelona completely overran Deportivo Alaves in their latest victory. A 3-0 win away from home, Hansi Flick’s men were unstoppable for most of the game and looked unbothered by Alaves’s attempts. Thanks to his victory, Barcelona are now able to recover their three point lead at the top of the La Liga table.
For many, the star of the show will undoubtedly be Polish ace Robert Lewandowski. Despite the mixed opinions about him that surfaced following his displays last season, this season has been a completely different story altogether. However, while the Barcelona striker was indeed sensational, he is not the only player who deserves credit.
Another man who is arguably just as deserving of praise for his performance in this game was Raphinha. The Brazilian forward and attacking midfielder, now aged 27, continues to impress for Barcelona this season and his latest appearance has just gone on to show the quality that he truly brings to the side.
As shown by the statistics highlighted by Barca Times, Raphinha was completely unstoppable and ran the show for Barcelona against their La Liga opponents. From his running to his passing and to his creativity, the former Leeds United player had a memorable performance.
Statistically speaking, he had a total of 48 touches in the game and he played the entire match from start to finish. He attempted 29 passes during the contest and completed 25 of them, and two of those distributed passes ended up being assists for Robert Lewandowski as the Polish striker succeeded in getting his hattrick thanks to his Brazilian teammate’s help.
Raphinha also created five chances for his team, the most out of any other player on the field. Two of those were even categorized as big chances for Barcelona. Thanks to his creativity and unselfishness, both Barça and Lewandowski thrived in this encounter against Alaves.
He also completed one dribble and half of his crosses were successful as well. Simultaneously, Raphinha was efficient whenever he had possession and did not get dispossessed even once in the entirety of the game. Such were his standards in his latest performance, and it consequently makes sense why Hansi Flick continues to trust him so much and why he holds onto the captain’s armband this season.
