Raphinha and Fermín face historic achievement not seen by Barcelona players since Messi

Raphinha and Fermín López face a unique challenge with FC Barcelona, as they have the opportunity to achieve a feat not seen with the Catalan team since Lionel Messi in 2020. This chance comes during their match against Rayo Vallecano in the third round of LaLiga.

According to "Mundo Deportivo", Raphinha and Fermín López top FC Barcelona's scoring list at the start of the season, having each scored two goals in the emphatic 5-0 victory over Elche, before each player netted a goal in the 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao.

The duo need to score against Rayo Vallecano to find the net for the third consecutive match and join a list of 14 players who have managed to score in the first three rounds of LaLiga while wearing the FC Barcelona shirt.

Lionel Messi was the last player at FC Barcelona to achieve this feat during the 2020/2021 season, in his final year with the team, after scoring two goals against Elche in a 3-0 win, two goals against Athletic Bilbao in a 3-2 victory, and then one goal against Villarreal during a 4-0 win.

FC Barcelona's history indicates that Lionel Messi only achieved this feat in his final season in LaLiga, while Samuel Eto'o scored four goals in the first three rounds of the 2006/2007 season, and Zlatan Ibrahimović netted five goals in the first five rounds of the 2009/2010 season, whereas Cesc Fàbregas scored four goals in the first four rounds of the 2011/2012 season.

Several FC Barcelona players have scored in the first three rounds of LaLiga before their streaks were halted, including Ángel Arocha in the 1930/1931 season, Josep Samitier in the 1931/1932 season, Josep Maria Fusté in the 1963/1964 season, Pedro Zabala in the 1966/1967 season, Bernd Schuster in the 1981/1982 season, Hristo Stoichkov in the 1990/1991 season, and Luis Enrique in the 2002/2003 season.

Ladislao Kubala and Caetano Re have managed to surpass the three-match barrier, with Kubala scoring in the first four matches of the 1953/1954 season, and Re achieving the same feat in the 1964/1965 season.

Cézar Rodríguez shares the record with Ibrahimović for the best scoring streak at the start of LaLiga, having scored in three consecutive rounds during the 1947/1948 season, before reaching five consecutive rounds during the 1950/1951 season, when he netted nine goals.

Raphinha and Fermín now face the challenge of scoring during the match against Rayo Vallecano, to replicate the achievement that Lionel Messi accomplished in 2020, and add their names to the list of players who scored in the first three rounds of LaLiga while wearing the FC Barcelona shirt.