No goals, no assists — Only one Barcelona forward fails to contribute during Asia tour | OneFootball

FC Barcelona concluded their pre-season tour of Asia with an impressive 5-0 win over Daegu FC in South Korea. A brace from Gavi, along with goals from Lewandowski, Toni Fernandez, and Marcus Rashford, sealed the victory for the Catalan club.

Barcelona named seven forwards in the touring squad: Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Marcus Rashford, Roony Bardghji, and Toni Fernandez. All of them found the back of the net during the three games, with the exception of Raphinha.

Raphinha Sharp but Goalless in Barcelona Pre-Season Tour

Photo by Paul Miller/Getty Images

The Brazilian featured in all three matches and, while he looked sharp throughout, he was the only attacker who didn’t register a goal or an assist.

After last season’s heroics across all competitions, the expectations for Raphinha are sky high. However, there isn’t much to read into the Brazilian not getting a goal contribution in pre-season. Ultimately, the performance is what counts.

Raphinha started all three games on the tour and pressed from the front like he always does. He was a constant menace with his running power on the left flank and showed great link-up play with Alejandro Balde and the midfield.

Against Daegu yesterday, the Brazilian winger also often drifted into midfield, switching positions with Dro. He made some brilliant runs and was perhaps unlucky to see shots go just wide on either side of the post.

Ultimately, Hansi Flick is unlikely to be too worried by Raphinha’s lack of goal contribution, as when the actual season comes around, there is no doubt that the Brazilian will be fit and raring to go. Let’s wait and see how it plays out.