Raphinha shone again in another Clásico as captain of FC Barcelona. The Brazilian scored a new brace in the final of the Supercopa de España to lead the 'hand' of Hansi Flick's team against Real Madrid (2-5), in another exhibition of a Barça that crushed the 'merengue' defense with the second rout of the season. The culés started the match down on the scoreboard due to a goal from Kylian Mbappé in the '5', but turned the result around with four goals before halftime.
Rapha started the match 'on fire', forcing Courtois just before the 0-1 with a header that the Belgian sent to the corner with reflexes. Despite the 0-1, Barça maintained control of the match and possession from start to finish in the first half, while Madrid crouched in the rival field, betting on long balls and the speed of their attacking trident to try to hurt the culé defense.
However, Barça's trident was the one that, once again, imposed authority in the Clásico. Lewandowski set up Lamine Yamal in the 22nd minute, with a great through ball that the '19' turned into a 'Messianic' stunner, leaving Mendy and Tchouaméni in his wake. 14 minutes later, the Pole put the azulgrana team ahead from the penalty spot. Until that moment, Raphinha was the forward who had the least impact on the game and the score.
Raphinha sealed the final with a stunner and a 'crack' assist
But the Brazilian understands Flick's game like few others and is always ready to take advantage of the spaces granted by rivals. In the 39', the '11' took advantage of Tchouaméni's distraction to get behind the Frenchman and make the diagonal run. Jules Koundé caught the winger and delivered an impeccable long pass from the right, directly to the head of the South American forward. Rapha finished with an unstoppable header, right against the base of the post, impossible for Courtois.
From there, Barça always had the title in their pocket, even more so when, in the last action before halftime, an absurd corner taken by Rodrygo ended in a lethal azulgrana counterattack. The Porto Alegre native, now without the captain's armband due to the entry of Ronald Araujo in place of the injured Iñigo Martínez, drove forward to wait for Alejandro Balde, who appeared like a train from the left to take advantage of the '11's assist, finishing with a cross shot in a one-on-one against Courtois.
Madrid's defense, completely at Raphinha's mercy
Despite Barça's dominance in the first half, Carlo Ancelotti made only one change at halftime: Dani Ceballos in place of a Camavinga whom Gil Manzano spared from a red card on two occasions. Against a completely broken defense, Raphinha continued to punish the 'merengues' mercilessly in the first dangerous opportunity for Barça in the second half. Marc Casadó filtered a masterful pass for the '11' to leave Tchouaméni behind again, unleashing an unstoppable shot.
After Szczesny's expulsion, Hansi Flick moved the bench to reorganize the team. Iñaki Peña, logically, came on for Gavi, while Dani Olmo did the same for Lamine Yamal. Raphinha moved to the right side until, in the 79', he was substituted for Ferran Torres. In total, the 28-year-old forward has scored 19 goals in 27 matches this season, along with 10 assists that confirm him in the podium of the best wingers currently, only surpassed by Lamine.