Raphinha<\/a> has found a new position and seems determined to make it his own. The Brazilian has reinvented himself as a centre-forward under Hansi Flick, and just a few matchdays later, he has already broken one of Lionel Messi<\/a>\u2019s records.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 29-year-old attacker arrived at Barcelona<\/a> in 2022 as a right winger. The emergence of Lamine Yamal<\/strong> later pushed him to switch flanks, and now, following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres and the failed attempt to sign Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, he has taken on a new challenge: becoming the team\u2019s No. 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And the results have been emphatic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Brazilian scored a hat-trick against Sevilla<\/a><\/strong> to reach 12 goals in the first seven LaLiga<\/a> matchdays, a tally that makes him the league\u2019s top scorer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With those 12 goals, Raphinha has surpassed Messi\u2019s best start to a season in the competition. The Argentine had scored 11 goals in the first seven matchdays of the 2017-18 campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In addition, the Brazilian\u2019s tally matches the best scoring starts of four other players: Mariano Mart\u00edn for Barcelona, Pruden for Atl\u00e9tico de Madrid, Campanal for Sevilla, and Quini for Sporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Only two players had started a league season with a higher total: Cristiano Ronaldo<\/strong>, with 13 goals in the first seven matchdays of 2014-15, and Echevarr\u00eda, who reached 14 with Oviedo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Raphinha will now face an even tougher target.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After the international break, Barcelona will host Getafe on October 10<\/strong>, and the Brazilian would need to score four goals to match the 16 Cristiano Ronaldo had after eight matchdays in that historic 2014-15 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It will not be easy, but his current numbers have turned any new scoring challenge into a real possibility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Raphinha is also leaving behind two of the greatest goalscorers in Barcelona\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The hat-trick against Sevilla was the third of his career for the blaugrana side. Until now, only Messi and Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/strong> had managed to score three hat-tricks for Bar\u00e7a.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If Raphinha scores another hat-trick in the next match, he would set a run that neither Messi nor Su\u00e1rez managed to achieve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A streak of three consecutive matches with three goals has only been recorded in Spanish football by Isidro L\u00e1ngara<\/strong> with Oviedo in the 1934-35 season and Telmo Zarra<\/strong> with Athletic Club in 1946-47.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His numbers are not explained by the number of goals alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Counting LaLiga and the Champions League match against Feyenoord, Raphinha has taken 22 shots<\/strong> this season. Only one went off target, while two hit the post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Of the 19 efforts that were on target, 14 ended up in the net<\/strong>, according to the data cited in the original report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n An extraordinary conversion rate that reflects the Brazilian\u2019s change of role. Raphinha is no longer playing only as a winger arriving in the box: Flick has found in him a striker capable of finishing moves with the ruthlessness of an elite No. 9.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n And while Barcelona were looking for a solution to fill the void left by Lewandowski and the move for Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez failed to materialise, Raphinha has taken on the challenge and is delivering with goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\nRaphinha surpasses Messi\u2019s scoring start<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
A new challenge after the international break<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
He is chasing another Messi and Su\u00e1rez record<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Unusually sharp finishing<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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