Barcelona boss Hansi Flick rested Robert Lewandowski against Real Mallorca and came close to giving Raphinha the night off too.
The Brazilian ended up starting the game and was the star for Barca, scoring twice in a much-needed victory for the Catalans giants at Son Moix.
Flick spoke about his selection decisions after the game and revealed Raphinha talked him out of being rested.
“We also thought about giving Rapha a rest. But we spoke to him and he said he was fine. And he really proved that tonight,” he said with a laugh.
Raphinha now has 11 goals and six assists in 16 La Liga games for Barcelona in what is proving to be an incredible campaign for the Brazilian forward.
Flick will surely have to give Raphinha a rest at some point but, on current form, he’s looking pretty undroppable ahead of tests against Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund.