"Cost us this match", "He's a Div 2 player" - Barcelona fans want star sold after his performance in 0-0 draw against Athletic Club
Several Barcelona supporters were unhappy with Raphinha's performance in the 0-0 draw against Athletic Club in La Liga on Sunday, March 3, and took to social media to slam the winger.
Raphinha was expected to raise his game since a win was important to Barca's title chances. However, he played for 76 minutes and produced no discernible effect.
The Brazilian completed only 16 out of 23 passes, had just 33 touches, produced no shots on goal, and failed to execute a single successful cross. His performance was Particularly disappointing in the attacking third.
The first half of the match was evenly balanced, with neither team able to grab the lead. However, when Pedri sustained a hamstring injury and Frenkie de Jong hurt his ankle, the game seemed to shift in Bilbao's favor. Barcelona seemed to change their strategy after these injuries, putting more of an emphasis on defense.
On X (formerly Twitter), fans vented their frustration, with several insulting remarks aimed at Raphinha in particular. One fan said:
"Raphinha cost us this match."
Another added:
"He's a Div 2 player."
Here is a selection of their posts:
Xavi Hernandez discusses how injuries affected Barcelona's game against Bilbao
The injuries sustained by Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in the goalless draw with Athletic Club have caused Barcelona manager Xavi plenty of concern.
When asked about it after the game, Xavi implied that both players would likely miss out on their important UEFA Champions League match against Napoli later this month. He told the press (via Barca Blaugranes):
“The injuries to Pedri and De Jong are not looking good. We are sad about these two absences, which will be for quite a few games I imagine.”
While Xavi believes that the team's performance was impacted by the injuries, he admitted that they didn't play well.
“Maybe the injuries affected the team too much but then in the second half with Lamine we created some chances but it was not our game today. We didn’t play well. We cannot be happy today because we need to do more."
He added:
"Everybody, me as a coach, the players. OK, we need to improve. It’s a very big opportunity that we missed today. We need to recover well, think about Mallorca, and keep going.”
Barcelona's next match is against Real Mallorca in La Liga (March 8) before the crucial Champions League encounter against Napoli (March 12).