Raphinha reveals his mindset after stunning Barcelona start: “I can give more” | OneFootball

Despite the concerns about his fitness that arose at the end of the last season that plagued his World Cup campaign as well, the Brazilian forward Raphinha has started the new season with FC Barcelona in blazing fashion.

He is playing a new role in the team, that of a center-forward, and has been scoring plenty of goals. The forward scored a hat-trick in his team’s 7-2 win over Racing Club last night, and thus took his goal tally to nine, leaving behind Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in the Pichichi race.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Brazilian star also spoke to the media after the match, and despite his amazing start to the season, expressed his desire to improve even further:

“It is always important to think that there is something you need to improve. I will never tell you that I am doing fine or that I am at my best level; I always try to improve as much as I can. I can probably give a little more to the team than I am giving at the moment. I am happy with the goals and the victory, which is the most important thing.”

The Barcelona captain also opened up about his satisfaction with the team’s results and performance at the start of this new season:

“I’m very happy, but if the team is doing well, any player can do it. I’m happy and I’m lost for words. This team always wants to win; we have a lot to achieve.”

“We have the mentality that whenever we can, we have to look for more goals, create more chances, and it shows on the pitch. We are much better positioned to score, so we have everything we need to be up there among the best.”

The Brazilian forward also spoke highly of Hansi Flick, and revealed that:

“He is the coach who changed both my mentality within the club and the way I saw myself.”

Despite his goals, Raphinha assured that he remains a team player and looks to help his colleagues, especially Lamine Yamal, in the attacking line whenever he can:

“I think that at that moment in the first half, Lamine needed it. He missed it, but it doesn’t matter. I can miss too; that is normal. Whenever I can, I will try to help him. Not just him, but Karim and Anthony too. I, more than anyone, know that a striker needs his goal, and we are doing everything we can to help him score.”

Although he has nothing left to prove after his excellent last two seasons at Barcelona, his amazing start to this season only goes on to show how keen Raphinha is to continue improving. Hopefully, he will maintain this good form long into the season, as his contributions will be necessary if the Blaugranes are to win the biggest trophies.