The Brazilian tops the La Liga scoring charts

Raphinha continued his fine Barcelona form on Saturday, scoring twice in the first half against Deportivo Alaves at the Spotify Camp Nou in the 11th round of the Spanish league. The Catalan side led 4-0 at the break.

The Brazilian's brilliance arrived at a crucial moment. Barcelona went into the match desperate to restore their balance after defeats to Paris Saint-Germain (4-2) and Real Madrid (2-1).

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His brace took him to 15 goals after the first 11 matches of the Spanish league this season. That matches Lionel Messi's feat from 2012-2013 and makes Raphinha the second-highest scorer across the first 11 matches of La Liga over the past 50 years.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo has done better, the Portugal star netting 18 goals in the first 11 matches of the 2014-2015 campaign.

What makes it all the more striking is the position. Raphinha is thriving as a central striker this season despite spending his career as a winger, a switch forced on Barca after they failed to land Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez last summer.

The Catalans came into the Alaves game hunting top spot. Atletico had nudged ahead of them by a single point earlier in the day, beating hosts Levante 2-0.