Raphinha leads Europe’s top leagues for goal contributions after flying Barcelona start

Raphinha has made the strongest attacking start among leading players in Europe’s major domestic leagues, contributing to nine goals in Barcelona’s opening five La Liga matches.

The Brazil international has scored six times and provided three assists, meaning he has had a direct hand in nine of Barcelona’s 21 goals in the competition, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Raphinha added to his impressive numbers in Barcelona’s 4-2 victory over Levante, setting up two goals in the space of 19 minutes. His first assist created the opener for Chavi Espart, before he supplied Lamine Yamal for the second.

The winger was also Barcelona’s leading chance creator in the match, producing three opportunities for team-mates and completing three dribbles.

Those figures put Raphinha ahead of the leading attacking contributors in the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga after the opening rounds of the season.

In England, Erling Haaland has scored four goals for Manchester City but has not registered an assist.

Donyell Malen leads the scoring charts in Italy with five goals for Roma, again without providing a goal for a team-mate.

In France, Amine Gouiri has scored four goals for Olympique de Marseille and has no assists. Kamory Doumbia has also scored four times for Brest and has created one goal, while Lassine Sinayoko has four goals for Paris FC without an assist.

The leading figures in Germany are Igor Matanovic of Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick, who have each scored three goals and supplied one assist.

Raphinha therefore has the highest total of direct goal contributions among all those players, with nine in only five league appearances.

His overall record for Barcelona is even more productive when the UEFA Champions League is included. He has scored eight goals and made three assists across La Liga and the European competition so far.

Raphinha has started all five of Barcelona’s league matches this season. He was also named in the starting line-up for the club’s opening UEFA Champions League fixture.