Lionel Messi’s name keeps appearing in the Barcelona record books, and this time it is two of his successors who have pushed their way into a very exclusive list. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are enjoying a remarkable start to the LaLiga season, and their numbers are already comparable to some of the best in the club’s history.
Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 in LaLiga Matchday 9, with a brilliant performance from Yamal, who contributed a goal and an assist to the win and made history alongside Raphinha.
According to statistician Mister Chip, Raphinha and Yamal have each been directly involved in 13 or more goals in Barcelona’s first nine LaLiga matches of the 2026-27 season. Raphinha has 12 goals and three assists, for 15 goal contributions, while Yamal reached 13, with eight goals and five assists, after his strike against Betis.
Yamal then climbed to 14 when he set up Gabriel Jesus for his goal, a result that gave Barcelona their ninth straight league victory to start the season. Only one other team had done it before: Real Madrid in 1968-69, which makes Hansi Flick’s side the second in LaLiga history to open a campaign with nine consecutive wins.
The feat has been achieved before by only a handful of Barcelona players: Messi did it four times, in 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2017-18, while Cesar Rodriguez did it three times, Eulogio Martinez twice, and Mariano Martin, Estanislau Basora and Ronaldo once each.
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Yamal makes LaLiga history among under-20 players
Yamal’s start to the season has also put him in a category of his own. According to Mister Chip, the Barcelona winger is the under-20 player with the most direct goal contributions in the first nine rounds of a season in LaLiga history. His 14 contributions, from eight goals and six assists, are three more than the previous best.
Jose Iraragorri held the previous mark with 11 contributions for Athletic Club in 1930-31, with nine goals and two assists. Jaime Lazcano, with Real Madrid in 1928-29, and Victorio Unamuno, with Athletic in 1928-29, each reached 11 with eight goals and three assists.
With the season still in its early stages, Yamal and Raphinha are giving Barcelona a scoring edge that few teams in Europe can match. The question now is how far they can push these numbers over the rest of the campaign, and whether they can keep the club’s perfect start going.
