@merry_kingfish: 🚨 Xavi on Raphinha’s form and how important he is to Barcelona: 🗣️ Xavi: “He is playing at a level that not many people expected. And that is what makes it special. They moved him into the middle. Into the number nine role. And he has taken it. Fifteen goals in the league. Top scorer. Scoring when they need him. Scoring against the big teams. Scoring when the game is open and when it is tight. That is not easy. Because he has always been a player who worked from the sides. Who ran. Who created. Now he is the one finishing as well. And he is doing both. Flick has said it. The numbers show it. The fans can see it. When Raphinha is in that form, the team looks different. Because he gives them the goal threat and the work rate at the same time. He does not just wait for the chances. He makes them. And then he takes them. I have seen players try to play that role and struggle. Because it asks for different things. Movement. Timing. Decision-making in the box. He has found it. And that is why he is so important right now. Look at the games. Two against Alaves. Goals against Real Madrid. Two against Aston Villa. He is not scoring in one type of game. He is scoring in all of them. And the team is relying on that. That is the difference. When a player becomes the one who decides the result, not just the one who helps create it. He has become that player. And Barcelona are better because of it. He has matched some of the numbers Messi had at the start of seasons. That is not normal. And it is not just the goals. It is the consistency. The focus. The way he is leading the team while he is doing it. That is why he matters. Because right now, if he is not in that form, the team does not look the same. And everyone can see it.”
