Raphinha: The former Leeds United striker is helping to maintain Barcelona's unbeaten run

Now unbeaten in their last nine league games, Barcelona are building impressive momentum after a rocky first half of the season. In MD30, they faced newly promoted Las Palmas, who are making an impression on Liga fans in their first season in the first division. After a first half that saw the sending off of Las Palmas keeper Alvaro Valles, in the end Barca made the numerical advantage as Joao Felix played a delicate ball over the defense of Las Palmas to play in Raphinha for an easy boss. This resulted in a narrow 1-0 win for Barcelona.

It's been an injury-plagued season for the former Leeds United striker, who completed 90 minutes for just the third time this season, after finding himself on the bench on several occasions and also sidelined through injury. Scoring his fifth league goal of the season and sixth overall, Raphinha will be hoping to continue to make an impact for Xavi Hernandez's side as the La Liga giants aim to close the eight-point gap between themselves and the league leaders Real Madrid.

Speaking to the Spanish media after the game, Xavi emphasized the importance of the Brazilian's role in the team:

“Raphinha is so dynamic that he can play in all attacking positions. He also plays with a lot of intensity, he gives us a lot. I don't think talking about whether he is a starter or not a starter is important for us, he is a very important footballer for our team. He was outstanding in many games during the season, and today was no different.”

With the second La Liga Clasico just weeks away, Barcelona will want to maintain these good performances ahead of a potential title decider.

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