LRL dethrones MSN! Barça's new trident breaks records

One of the great cornerstones of FC Barcelona this season for establishing themselves as one of the best teams in Europe and the world is the "LRL" and its lethal attacking power.

Following the equalizing goal against Inter (3-3) in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals and the spectacular amazing goal by Lamine Yamal in Barcelona 3-3 Inter Milan in the first leg, the "LRL" trident formed by Lamine, Raphinha, and Lewandowski, increased the goalscoring record of the historic "MSN" formed by Messi, Suárez, and Neymar.

The 'MSN' goalscoring record in Champions League and that the 'LRL' has surpassed

By analyzing carefully, it can be observed that in certain aspects, the "LRL" trident is achieving numbers similar to those of the "MSN." And according to statistical data, the current trident of FC Barcelona has already surpassed the impressive record left by the historic trident of the Catalan team in the 2014-15 season, the last in which Barça won the 'Orejona' (Champions League trophy).

In that season, the starting trident in the attack of the team coached by Luis Enrique scored 27 goals in 13 Champions League matches and featured Leo Messi on the right wing, Neymar Jr. on the left wing, and Luis Suárez as the center forward.

Messi, Suárez, and Neymar with Barça

The MSN's goals were distributed as follows:

• MSN: 27 GOALS IN 13 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES
• 🇦🇷 Leo Messi: 10 goals in 13 matches
• 🇺🇾 Luis Suárez: 7 goals in 10 matches
• 🇧🇷 Neymar Jr.: 10 goals in 12 matches

The "LRL", the current starting trident in the attack of the team coached by Hansi Flick, has scored 29 goals in 14 matches (surpassed it in the 13th match with Lamine's goal against Inter) and includes Lamine Yamal on the right wing, Raphinha on the left wing, and Robert Lewandowski as the center forward.

Lamine, Raphinha, and Lewandowski

The LRL's goals were distributed as follows:

• LRL: 29 GOALS IN 14 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES
• 🇧🇷 Raphinha: 13 goals in 14 matches
• 🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski: 11 goals in 13 matches
• 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal: 5 goals in 13 matches

How many goals have Lamine, Raphinha, and Lewandowski scored this season?

This goes beyond simple words, since of the 163 goals that FC Barcelona has scored to date, the three forwards have contributed a total of 87 goals, which represents 53% of the goalscoring production of the culé team.

87 goals from Lamine, Raphina, and Lewandowski in the 2024/25 season

1. Robert Lewandowski: 40 goals (25 in LaLiga, 11 in Champions League, 3 in Copa del Rey, and 1 in the Spanish Super Cup)
2. Raphinha: 32 goals (16 in LaLiga, 13 in Champions League, 1 in Copa del Rey, and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup)
3. Lamine Yamal; 15 goals (6 in LaLiga, 5 in Champions League, 2 in Copa del Rey, and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup)

This demonstrates the voracious capacity that the three forwards can have when they set their minds to it and that has endowed Barça with one of the most fearsome attacking tridents in the world.

Such is the 'hype' generated by the forward line formed by Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Lewandowski, that comparisons with the legendary blaugrana trident known as the MSN keep coming up. The mythical forward line composed of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar Jr.

The "LRL" will have the opportunity to increase its record. Will they achieve it?

In that sense, we'll have to see how far the new goalscoring record of Lamine, Raphinha, and Lewandowski goes, as they will have more opportunities to improve their statistics, given that they will compete in the Champions League again next season.

It will also be interesting to see if the feared culé trident manages to impose their game and scoring ability in the rest of the competitions and approaches the rest of the goalscoring records that the historic MSN of Messi, Suárez, and Neymar set.

Raphinha surpasses Messi and makes history in the Champions League

In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, in addition to celebrating Lamine Yamal's 100th official match with the blaugrana shirt, Raphinha also made history by adding his eighth assist of the tournament. In the 38th minute, the Brazilian set up Ferran Torres with a header, after a chipped pass from Pedri, for the 'Tiburón' (Shark) to score the partial 2-2.

• Champions League 2024/25 - Raphinha: 21 direct goal involvements (13 goals and 8 assists in 14 matches)

• Champions League 2011/12 - Leo Messi: 19 direct goal involvements (14 goals and 5 assists in 11 matches)

This allowed the '11' to surpass a record held by Leo Messi since the 2011-12 season. The Rosario native was, until now, the Barça player with the most goal involvements in a single edition of the Champions League. That season, 'La Pulga' scored 14 goals and 5 assists in 11 matches with Pep Guardiola's team.

Raphinha: Top scorer and historical record in the Champions League

Raphinha, for his part, after scoring in the second leg against Inter, has 13 goals and 8 assists in 14 appearances in this edition of the Champions League, that is, he has participated in 21 of the 43 goals scored by the team managed by Hansi Flick (49%).

In addition, Raphinha equaled the record for direct goal involvements by a player in the same edition of the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo had 17+4 in the 2013-14 season. Raphinha has participated in 21 goals in the Champions League 24/25 (13 goals and 8 assists), equaling the highest record for a player in a campaign in the competition.

• Champions League 2024/25 - Raphinha: 21 direct goal involvements (13 goals and 8 assists in 14 matches)

• Champions League 2013/14 - Cristiano Ronaldo: 21 direct goal involvements (17 goals and 4 assists)

In this way, the Porto Alegre native breaks a new record, places himself as the top scorer in the Champions League and continues to earn merit to be one of the main candidates for the Ballon d'Or 2025.