Several FC Barcelona players will be leaving to join the national teams after the match against Osasuna last night. Among these players is also the Brazilian Raphinha, who has not had a start of the season to remember.
Raphinha saw himself get a red card in the opening match of the 2023-24 La Liga season, which also resulted in a two-match suspension for him. This suspension had ended last night, but things did not go as expected for the Brazilian winger.
Raphinha loses his starting place
As SPORT has reported, Raphinha was expected to start the match against Osasuna last night, as he had completed his suspension, and was the starting winger for Xavi at the beginning of the season. However, Xavi decided to reward Lamine Yamal with a start, and Raphinha had to wait for an opportunity from the bench.
Things did not improve even when Xavi started making changes from the bench. The first player to be subbed in was Ferran Torres, who replaced Lamine Yamal in the 59th minute, when the score was still 1-0 in Barcelona’s favour.
After Ferran, Felix was given the opportunity to make his Barcelona debut, only minutes after Osasuna had equalized through a goal from Chimy Avila.
Raphinha did enter the pitch, but it was only in the stoppage time, when Osasuna were reduced to ten men with Catena having been expelled. Thus, Raphinha played only a testimonial part in an important match, and other players were given more preference ahead of him.
Leaving for Brazil
This match should serve as a warning to the Brazilian, especially with the wealth of forwards that Xavi has at his disposal. For now, he will be leaving for Brazil, as the Selecao have their first training scheduled for tomorrow under their new coach, Fernando Diniz. Raphinha’s Brazil will be facing Bolivia and Peru in the upcoming week.