Raphinha has shone for Barcelona in their strong start to the season and the Catalan giants will need to lean on the Brazil winger even more ahead of a pivotal week. Hansi Flick’s La Liga leaders host Sevilla on Sunday before a tantalising Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday and then a Clasico battle against Real Madrid the following Saturday. Madrid, meanwhile, visit Celta Vigo after giving their support to star forward Kylian Mbappe after Swedish media reported that he is being investigated for an alleged rape during a visit to Stockholm.

An internal club source, who spoke to AFP on condition of their identity not being revealed, described the accusations against the French player as “the biggest fake in the history of sport”.

Raphinha is Barcelona’s only regular attacking star who has been able to stay fit, with question marks over the rest of the team’s usual front line.

Striker Robert Lewandowski sat out Poland’s Nations League draw with Croatia on Tuesday with a knock, while Barcelona have diagnosed teenage winger Lamine Yamal with a minor hamstring strain.

Ferran Torres is sidelined with a thigh injury for several weeks and playmaker Dani Olmo is recovering from a hamstring problem.

By contrast Raphinha struck twice for Brazil in a 4-0 win over Peru which helped them gain back ground in South American World Cup 2026 qualifying.

The winger has six goals and six assists this season for Barcelona in 11 matches across all competitions.

“I am very happy for him, it’s unbelievable what he’s doing,” said Flick after another stellar Raphinha display in Barcelona’s last outing, a 3-0 win at Alaves.

“His dynamic is really good and I think that he can still get even better.”

Raphinha’s first two seasons at Barcelona after a 65 million euro ($71 million) move from English side Leeds United in 2022 were inconsistent.

The Brazilian showed flashes of brilliance but also frustrated fans and at times seemed lost under former coach Xavi Hernandez.

Finally under Flick he is delivering on his hefty price tag and his positive attitude and hard work has earned him the chance to captain both club and country on occasion.

“The fact that I was chosen as captain at Barcelona also comes a little from my way of being,” Raphinha told Globo during the international break.

“(It comes from) always trying to get along with everyone, with the younger ones, with the older ones, trying to help those who arrive at the club, whether they are youngsters from the youth team or from other places, trying to help them adapt as quickly as possible.”

Sevilla, 12th, started the season poorly but have three wins in their last five games, including against rivals Real Betis, and a draw at Athletic Bilbao.

Former Barcelona attacker Gerard Fernandez is finding his feet with the visitors, while Chidera Ejuke and Dodi Lukebakio make Francisco Garcia Pimienta’s side dangerous.

The coach spent nearly three decades at the Catalan giants between his time as a player and a youth team coach.

Garcia Pimienta’s Sevilla pose a threat which Barcelona cannot overlook despite the upcoming clashes with Bayern and Madrid.

Player to watch: Antoine Griezmann

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann was able to rest over the international break after retiring from France duty and he will look to make that count as the Rojiblancos face Leganes on Sunday. Diego Simeone’s side have not hit their stride this season and will look to Griezmann to take the reins.

Key stats

0 – Las Palmas are the only team in La Liga yet to win a game.

10 – Real Sociedad’s tricky winger Takefusa Kubo is the division’s most fouled player in the final third.

39 – shots taken by Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe, the most in the league.

Fixtures

Friday (all times GMT)

Alaves v Valladolid (1900)

Saturday

Athletic Bilbao v Espanyol (1200), Osasuna v Real Betis (1415), Girona v Real Sociedad (1630), Celta Vigo v Real Madrid (1900)

Sunday

Mallorca v Rayo Vallecano (1200), Atletico Madrid v Leganes (1415), Villarreal v Getafe (1630), Barcelona v Sevilla (1900)

Monday

Valencia v Las Palmas (1900)

Osasuna shattered La Liga leaders Barcelona’s perfect start to the season with an emphatic 4-2 victory on Saturday and their coach Hansi Flick said he would take the blame. The Catalans won all seven of their opening fixtures but Flick’s heavily rotated side came badly undone in Pamplona as Ante Budimir scored a brace either side of Bryan Zaragoza’s strike. Pau Victor had given Barca a lifeline to pull them back into the game before Budimir bagged his second from the penalty spot.

Abel Bretones added a sensational fourth from the edge of the box, before Lamine Yamal pulled one back with a fine effort of his own.

Victory would have matched Barcelona’s best ever start to a league campaign with eight consecutive wins, but they were not able to build on their four-point lead on second-place Real Madrid.

The Spanish champions visit Atletico Madrid, third, in a derby clash on Sunday.

“In the first half we made a lot of mistakes, it’s not normal we play like this — we had a lot of changes in the team and this is maybe one reason for that,” Flick told reporters.

“I think it was necessary. We had so many matches, a lot of players had so many minutes, I have to take care about that. This is my responsibility.

“If you want to blame someone for this defeat then take me.”

Ahead of a Champions League match against Young Boys on Tuesday, Flick felt he had to shuffle his pack, especially after Barca lost at Monaco in their European opener.

The coach, missing several key players through injury, handed starts to inexperienced defenders Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez as well as Pablo Torre in midfield and Victor in attack.

The coach rested Spain Euro 2024 starlet Yamal and Brazilian winger Raphinha among other regular picks.

As a result Barcelona failed to ignite in the first half and Osasuna winger Zaragoza took centre-stage.

Last season Zaragoza struck twice while playing for Granada in a 2-2 draw against Barca, a performance which helped earn him a move to Bayern Munich.

On loan from the German giants, Zaragoza created the opener for target-man Budimir with a fine cross, which the Croatian nodded home with ease in the 18th minute after escaping the attentions of Dominguez.

Zaragoza finished the second himself 10 minutes later after being sent through on goal, with the winger bypassing goalkeeper Inaki Pena with a fine ball roll and then slotting into the empty net.

Barcelona complained there had been a foul on Victor in the build-up but the referee waved their complaints away.

The leaders created little themselves, with the best opening falling to Ferran Torres. However the Spanish winger miscontrolled on the edge of the box and was quickly swallowed up by the Osasuna defence.

End-to-end

Victor pulled Barcelona back into the game after Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera gave the ball away with a poor throw and then could not keep out his early shot from distance.

With Yamal and Raphinha thrown into the fray Barcelona began to threaten increasingly, although top scorer Robert Lewandowski was taken off with 20 minutes remaining after a flat display.

Against the run of play Osasuna increased their lead.

Dominguez, 19, scythed down Budimir in the area as he went to shoot and the striker buried the penalty.

Ruben Pena wasted a glorious chance to grab a fourth but Bretones made no mistake with a vicious effort from the edge of the box.

Yamal hit back brilliantly from range and teed up Torres who struck the post, but it was too little, too late.

“It’s normal there are rotations, there are a lot of games, it’s not an excuse,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Movistar.

“In the second half we deserved a bit more but we let in goals when we were at our best.”

Osasuna rose to sixth and Zaragoza said his team had been determined to beat the leaders.

“We knew Barca were an incredible team, they had won everything and we knew we had to get stuck into it, and that’s how we went out there,” explained the winger.

“It’s a special game and really nice to play in.”

Earlier Real Sociedad defeated Valencia 3-0 and Getafe won their first game of the season with a 2-0 home victory over Alaves. Rayo Vallecano and Leganes shared a 1-1 draw.

Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha struck twice each as La Liga leaders Barcelona romped to a 5-1 win at Villarreal on Sunday but were left fearing a “huge” knee injury to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Atletico Madrid, fourth, were held to a 1-1 draw at city rivals Rayo Vallecano as Conor Gallagher netted his second goal for the Rojiblancos. Barcelona’s sixth league triumph in six games was marred by Ter Stegen being taken off on a stretcher after falling awkwardly having collected a cross, with early reports suggesting he could miss the rest of the season.

“I think it will be a huge injury, when he laid down on the field… you can see it directly,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told DAZN.

Lewandowski netted Barcelona’s first two goals and later missed a penalty in a thoroughly entertaining battle on Spain’s east coast at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica.

Ayoze Perez pulled his team back into the game shortly before half-time and the previously unbeaten hosts had two goals disallowed, with Pablo Torre and Raphinha’s strikes cementing Barcelona’s victory.

After second-placed Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday the Catalans were able to restore a four-point lead on the champions.

“It’s very important for us that we played a game away from home, we scored five goals and in the end we have three points,” said Lewandowski.

“In the end it doesn’t matter how, as long as we win that’s perfect.”

Flick gave Eric Garcia another start in defensive midfield despite his early red card against Monaco in the Champions League midweek defeat.

The German coach also started reserve team players Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez, as well as playmaker Torre in place of the injured Dani Olmo.

Teenage star Lamine Yamal hit the post early on before Lewandowski slotted home in the 20th minute after Torre slipped him in.

Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Conde did well to keep out a bundled effort from the Polish striker but Lewandowski pounced after 35 minutes for his second.

Conde saved Garcia’s header well but the former Bayern Munich hitman converted the rebound with an acrobatic finish from close range.

It was his sixth La Liga goal of the season, taking him two clear of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in Spain’s golden boot race.

‘Special person’

Villarreal were frequently threatening on the counter and Perez gave them a lifeline after the electric Nicolas Pepe set him up.

Ter Stegen thwarted Pepe with a sensational save one-on-one before half-time but the German Barca captain was soon stricken as he fell badly after catching a corner before the break and was replaced by Inaki Pena.

Pepe finished brilliantly early in the second half but his effort was disallowed for a marginal offside call, and Yeremy Pino hit the bar with a header as Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side drove Barcelona back.

Torre extended Barca’s lead with a deflected strike from the edge of the box, a killer blow given Villarreal’s momentum.

Lewandowski hit the post from the spot after Eric Bailly scythed down Yamal and Villarreal’s Thierno Barry had a goal ruled out for offside.

Raphinha ended any hopes of a home comeback, first with a deflected shot and then finishing after a superb Yamal pass left him with just Conde to beat.

“(Ter Stegen) is a very special and important person in the dressing room, this victory is 100 percent for him,” Raphinha told DAZN.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois wrote Ter Stegen a message on social media platform X.

“It hurt me a lot to see you leave the pitch like that,” wrote the Belgian stopper.

“I hope you can recover soon and we see you again in goal.”

In a Madrid derby clash Diego Simeone’s unbeaten Atletico could not find a way past Rayo Vallecano.

Rayo’s Isi Palazon slammed home from close range after 35 minutes and the goal was eventually given after initially being ruled offside.

However Gallagher finished neatly from the edge of the box early in the second half when Alexander Sorloth fed the England international.

“(At half-time Simeone) told us we all had to run, these days anyone who is not running here cannot play,” Atletico captain Koke told Movistar.

“We had chances to get the winner but it wasn’t to be.”

Athletic Bilbao overtook Atletico to move into third with a 3-1 win against Celta Vigo.