Stats: Barcelona duo Raphinha and Lamine Yamal’s incredible numbers put Europe’s best attackers in the shade | OneFootball

Barcelona’s blistering start to the season has been driven by many factors, but the numbers behind Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are becoming impossible to overlook.

The two forwards have developed into the most productive attacking duo among Europe’s major leagues, combining goals, assists and an involvement in a remarkable percentage of Barcelona’s goals.

To put it in perspective, in La Liga alone, Raphinha and Yamal have produced 19 goals and seven assists between them. 

Their combined 26 goal contributions put them comfortably ahead of Real Madrid’s leading duo of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, who have registered 10 goals and five assists.

Raphinha and Lamine are outscoring Europe’s biggest duos

The two Barcelona forwards are operating at a level that has left the other leading attacking pairings behind.

Rayo Vallecano’s Sergio Camello and Alvaro Garcia sit third with nine goals and three assists between them, while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki have eight goals and two assists.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are leaving everyone behind. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and Harry Kane have combined for seven goals and two assists.

The comparison with Real Madrid is particularly interesting, as Mbappe has seven La Liga goals and two assists, while Bellingham has three goals and three assists. 

Their 15 combined contributions are still 11 short of the total produced by Raphinha and Yamal.

Overall numbers tell an even bigger story

Across La Liga and the Champions League, Raphinha and Yamal have combined for 22 goals and nine assists.

More importantly, they have been directly involved in 27 of Barcelona’s 36 goals across those competitions, which breaks down to 24 of Barça’s 31 goals in La Liga and four of their five Champions League goals.

Their influence was especially obvious against Racing Club, when the pair contributed to six of Barcelona’s seven goals.

Barcelona have the best attacking duo in Europe. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

There have also been several occasions when they have effectively created and finished the same attack. 

Against Feyenoord, Yamal assisted Raphinha. Against Levante, Raphinha returned the favour before Yamal scored. And against Sevilla, Yamal again provided the assist for Raphinha in each of the final two goals.

Raphinha and Lamine are driving Barcelona’s attack

For what it is worth, Barcelona are getting production from two players who can switch between scorer and creator depending on the situation, making the pairing particularly difficult to contain. 

Shut down one and the other can hurt an opponent; give either space, and Barcelona have the quality to turn it into a goal.

For Hansi Flick, that is the foundation of an attack that has already produced 36 goals across La Liga and the Champions League.