Raphinha at the centre of Barca’s assembling of a new dazzle-dynasty

Barcelona's Raphinha (center) hugs teammates Anthony Gordon (left) and Dani Olmo during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano. (AP Photo)

5 min readSep 14, 2026 09:15 AM IST First published on: Sep 14, 2026 at 09:15 AM IST

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.