With the assist to Lamine Yamal: Raphinha brings back the magic of Messi to Barcelona after 9 years

The Brazilian star continues to shine

Barcelona's Brazilian star Raphinha has channelled the magic of his Argentine predecessor Lionel Messi in LaLiga, ending a wait of nearly nine years.

The Catalans travelled to Levante on Sunday, taking on their hosts at the Ciudad de Valencia in the fifth round of LaLiga.

Raphinha turned provider in the 19th minute. With the goalkeeper out of position, he slid a low cross across the face of goal for Spanish star Lamine Yamal to tap in Barcelona's second.

That was his ninth goal contribution for the club after just five rounds of LaLiga, according to Opta, with six goals and three assists to his name.

No Barcelona player has enjoyed a better start after five rounds in almost nine years.

Only Messi has done better. The Argentine racked up 10 goal contributions after five rounds in the 2017-2018 season, scoring nine and setting up one.

Raphinha also sits top of the LaLiga scoring charts this season with six goals, level with Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Rayo Vallecano's Sergio Camello.