Barcelona spent much of the summer chasing Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, but Raphinha’s explosive start to the La Liga season suggests they may already have the attacking firepower they need.
The Brazilian winger has scored five goals in three games while operating out of position as Barcelona’s No. 9, giving the defending champions plenty of reason for optimism ahead of Sunday’s trip to Valencia at Mestalla.
Barcelona have won all three of their league games and sit on nine points, level with Jose Mourinho’s revamped Real Madrid and Real Betis, who stunned Los Blancos 1-0 on Friday.
The Catalan club failed to sign the marquee forward they wanted to bolster their attack following the summer departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. Instead, they turned to a deadline-day deal for Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus.
Yet even Jesus, a former Manchester City forward, faces a difficult task in breaking into an attack that is already flourishing, with his fellow Brazilian Raphinha leading the charge.
