Raphinha sets sights on Ibrahimovic milestone as Barcelona scoring run gathers pace

Raphinha is aiming to join an exclusive group of Barcelona players after matching Lionel Messi’s achievement of scoring in each of the club’s first three La Liga matches of a season.

The Brazil forward has made an outstanding start to the 2026-27 campaign, leading Barcelona’s scoring charts with five goals. Barcelona have won all three of their league games so far, scoring 12 times in the process.

Fermin Lopez is second on the team’s scoring list with three goals, while Lamine Yamal has scored twice. Karim Adeyemi has one goal, with Barcelona’s tally also including an own goal.

Raphinha scored twice against Elche, twice against Athletic Club and once against Rayo Vallecano. Those goals mean he has found the net in each of Barcelona’s opening three La Liga fixtures.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the forward’s start has put him in position to challenge records set by some of the club’s most notable players.

Barcelona have previously had 13 players score in their first three La Liga matches of a season. Messi was the most recent to do so, during his final season with the club in 2020-21.

Messi scored twice against Elche in a 3-0 victory, twice against Athletic Club in a 3-2 win and once against Villarreal in a 4-0 success.

Raphinha will have the chance to extend his run when Barcelona face Valencia on 6 September. A goal in that match would make him only the fourth Barcelona player to score in each of the club’s first four league games of a campaign.

Ladislao Kubala achieved the feat in 1953-54, scoring eight goals across matches against Real Sociedad, Jaen, Real Valladolid and Sporting. Cayetano Re followed in 1964-65, scoring five goals against Las Palmas, Atletico de Madrid, Deportivo and Murcia.

Cesc Fabregas was the third player to complete the sequence, doing so in 2011-12 with four goals against Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Valencia.

Only two players have scored in each of Barcelona’s first five La Liga matches. Cesar Rodriguez managed it in 1950-51, scoring eight goals against Real Sociedad, Atletico de Madrid, Real Madrid, Murcia and Valencia.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic reached the same mark in 2009-10, scoring five times against Sporting, Getafe, Atletico de Madrid, Racing and Malaga. Ibrahimovic was also the first player to achieve the feat in his first season in La Liga.

Raphinha’s current run also places him alongside a rare Messi record. So far this century, Messi is the only Barcelona player to score in four consecutive competitive matches across all competitions.

He accomplished that in 2011-12 by scoring in both legs of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid, finding the net three times in total, before scoring against Porto in the UEFA Super Cup and twice against Villarreal in Barcelona’s opening La Liga game.

Messi repeated the sequence in 2012-13, scoring twice against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup before registering goals against Real Sociedad and Osasuna in La Liga.