If there is a player from FC Barcelona who is having a truly stellar 2024-25 season, it is Raphinha. The native of Porto Alegre has 24 goals and 15 assists in 35 matches, record figures for him personally, which are gradually strengthening his candidacy for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. If he continues with this exceptional projection, his nomination will be very interesting to analyze.
Speaking of challenges to overcome, Raphinha will face an important test in the match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (21:00 h) in the 24th round of LaLiga EA Sports. The former Leeds United player, in addition to trying to extend his streak of contributions—whether goals or assists—for his team, after scoring a goal in the match against Sevilla (1-4) and providing two assists in the victory of 0-5 against Valencia CF in the Copa del Rey, will have to face a significant challenge.
Raphinha has faced Rayo Vallecano five times over three seasons with FC Barcelona, being one of the Spanish teams he has faced the most, only behind clubs like Real Madrid (9), Valencia CF (7), Betis (6), Real Sociedad (6), and Getafe CF (6). However, unlike the previously mentioned clubs, 'Rapha' has yet to score his first goal against the 'franjirrojos', being one of the few Spanish teams that have resisted his scoring will.
| TEAMS | MATCHES PLAYED | GOALS SCORED |
|---|---|---|
| Real Betis Balompié | 6 | 4 |
| Real Madrid | 9 | 3 |
| RCD Mallorca | 5 | 3 |
| Sevilla FC | 5 | 3 |
| Real Valladolid | 3 | 3 |
| Valencia CF | 7 | 2 |
| Villarreal CF | 5 | 2 |
| UD Las Palmas | 3 | 2 |
| Real Sociedad | 6 | 1 |
| Getafe CF | 6 | 1 |
| CA Osasuna | 5 | 1 |
| Celta de Vigo | 5 | 1 |
| Athletic Club | 4 | 1 |
| RCD Espanyol | 3 | 1 |
| UD Almería | 3 | 1 |
| Ceuta | 1 | 1 |
| UD Barbastro | 1 | 1 |
| CF Intercity | 1 | 1 |
| Atlético de Madrid | 5 | 0 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 5 | 0 |
| Girona | 4 | 0 |
| Deportivo Alavés | 3 | 0 |
| Cádiz CF | 3 | 0 |
| CD Leganés | 1 | 0 |
| Elche | 1 | 0 |
| Granada CF | 1 | 0 |
Raphinha has only been able to provide one assist in five duels against Rayo Vallecano
However, this does not mean that Raphinha has not had the opportunity to be influential against Rayo Vallecano in any of his five previous matches against this team. In fact, in the last encounter of this same 2024-25 season, the '11' assisted Pedri González's goal that opened the scoring for the Catalans, in a match that ended 1-2. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Brazilian international will be able to score against the Vallecas team in this upcoming match. Will he succeed this round?