Some goals are made for reels. Like Raphinha’s third-minute strike against Feyenoord in the champions league. Inside the box, he eviscerated a pair of defenders with a gorgeous feint, both sliding theatrically along the luscious Nou Camp grass, and insouciantly slugged the ball home. The goal embodied the triumphalism Barcelona had displayed this season, nascent still, but bouncing with hope. Some goals are made to reassure the manager and boardroom. Like Raphinha’s second, that arrived 54 minutes later. He whipped home a through ball from Pedri with a brilliantly timed run in from behind. It was a classical poacher’s strike, which would please the manager Hansi Flick, who was admittedly worried that Barcelona had not signed a replacement for Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. Both were pushed to the departure lounge in the hope that an incoming flight would land Julian Alvarez. But he stayed firmly grounded in Atletico Madrid’s hangar. When uncertainty over Alvarez grew, Flick promptly drafted the contingency plan. In the preseason warm-up, he briefed Raphinha about the potentially new role; the Brazilian put endless shifts on the training ground, adapting to the new role. Flick’s choice made sense. Among his stack of forwards and wingers at his disposal, he was the easiest to repurpose. He has a sturdier physical presence than Lamine Yamal and Karim Adeyemi upfront; he doesn’t get bullied by defenders. He is a considerably better finisher than Gabriel Jesus, still teething into the side, as well as Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez; Karim Adeyemi is still raw. The season before he had scored 34 goals and assisted 26, but as a left-sided winger. Perhaps, had they acquired Alvarez, they would not have been this prolific, what with him taking time to blend into a club with a vastly different culture. The striker’s instincts of Raphinha are evident; his knack of exploding into spaces, using his body and trickery to pinch the ball from defenders, and the expertise to score goals differently. He can scream it across the face of the goal, he could nudge and nod. He could blast long-rangers with as much dexterity as he could chip the ball over the keeper’s head. The Ballon D’or snub was just another timely fuel. The prelude to his first goal offered insights into his goal-sniffing impulses too. He was lurking near the centre line when Pedri flung an aerial pass to Yamal out far right. When the ball nestled into Yamal’s feet, Raphinha was storming into the box, creeping into the frame. Still, it seemed a race he would lose. Yamal’s pass seemed fractionally over-hit. It was not; rather it was perfectly weighted for Raphinha. It lulled defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe into a false sense of security. But the Brazilian pounced just in time, pinched the ball away from him with a left-footed stab, twisted his body in the direction of the ball and then conjured that heavenly feint. The brace took his tally to eight goals from five games. Flick gushed praises: “Rapha has played fantastic. He is on another level – he’s unbelievable. When he’s like this, he’s, for me, one of the best players in the world.” It was a classic case of the emergency plan working more prolifically than the default plan. Structurally, it enables the rest to play in their best positions. Yamal can’t be moved out of the right wing, Adeyemi’s favourite role is on the left, Olmo is comfortable putting shifts as a No 10, playmaking and disrupting the defensive lines with his unpredictable movements. Rodri’s arrival has fully unlocked Pedri’s attacking affinities. The result has been devastating. Barcelona have sloshed in 26 goals in six games, that is one goal roughly every twentieth minute. Raphinha and Yamal have apportioned a chunk of the pie (eight), but others have chimed in. The vibrant Lopez has contributed four. Jesus and Adeyemi rattled their maiden goal for their new club against Feyenoord. Another new recruit Anthony Gordon leads the assist chart with four. After the heyday of the fabled MSN trifecta, the Catalan giants look a genuinely supreme and exciting side capable of crushing the tightest defences in the world and triumphing in Europe for the first time since 2015. The German manager, though, dwells on their defensive robustness. Six games into season, they have conceded only three. “When I see the xG [expected goals] we have in every game, it’s good, but also the xG against us is much better than last season,” he said. The central piece has been Pau Cubarsi, only 19. “For me, he’s playing on another level at the moment. I am really happy he has the confidence, but also he’s very focused. With the body, he also improved physically. This is very important, especially for this position. Also with the ball, he’s playing really well, which helps us a lot, so amazing about that.” Rodri has seamlessly woven into the side that has all the markings of making this season epic. En route, there would be goals made for reels, and those that reassure the manager.
