Relying too much? Without Raphinha again, Barcelona left red-faced | OneFootball

All of Barcelona's defeats this season have something in common: Raphinha was not in the Catalans' starting lineup. On Thursday night, the team was thrashed by Atlético Madrid, 4-0, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

The defeat against the team led by Diego Simeone was another match where Barcelona felt the absence of the former Sporting winger. Due to muscle overload, the Brazilian international was rested. Another significant absence was Pedri, who is dealing with a muscle problem in his right thigh.

In total, in the games where Raphinha played this season, Barcelona has a success rate of 91 percent. Without the number 11, this record drops to 60 percent of the points earned. Hansi Flick highlighted the absences in the first leg but reinforced the belief in a possible comeback at Camp Nou.

"We had many injuries. Losing is also part of the game. It was a painful defeat, but I am proud of the team. They had more desire to score. The team is young, but I won't make excuses. Now we have an opportunity to turn things around. It won't be easy, but we will try", said Hansi Flick in the post-match conference.

This season, wearing the Catalans' jersey, Raphinha – valued at 80 million euros – played 22 games: 14 in La Liga, five in the Champions League - a competition where Sporting has two new players on the list - two in the Spanish Super Cup, and one in the Copa del Rey. In the 1,408 minutes he was on the field, the left-footer scored 13 goals and made five assists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.