Raphinha Tipped To Be Axed By Xavi After Another ‘Monumental Tantrum’ At Getafe, Brazilian Defends Himself

FC Barcelona winger Raphinha could be dropped by head coach Xavi Hernandez again following another ‘monumental tantrum’ after being substituted, SPORT has suggested. Later on, the Brazilian defended his corner and suggesting that his anger is “normal”.

The struggling €58 million ($64 million) signing suffered another frustrating afternoon at Getafe. Hitting the post in the first half, he often gave the ball away cheaply but could be commended for strong defensive work in winning it back.

In the dying moments of the 0-0 draw which sentenced Barca to their first pair of scoreless stalemates in 18 years, and their worst run of games without hitting the back of the net since April 2008, Raphinha was awarded the MVP award for the match while shown sat near the dugout at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez in a strop.

Before that, he was once again clearly disgruntled when not allowed to finish 90 minutes by his coach Xavi Hernandez as midfielder Pablo Torre replaced him in the 87th.

Immediately following the full time whistle, SPORT criticized Raphinha for another ‘monumental tantrum’, though there were some backhanded compliments.

“Raphinha was at the level of the rest of the Blaugrana team in the duel against Getafe: willful but lacking in ideas,” the Catalan daily newspaper wrote.

“It can even be considered that he was among the most outstanding because he starred in the few actions of danger of Barca, including a shot to the post in the first half that could have changed the game.”

SPORT conceded that Raphinha’s displeasure with being hooked could have been due to the bad luck he suffered in the match, but suggested that the “fact is that the image that remained of Raphinha this Sunday is that of a new tantrum, similar to the one he starred in weeks ago in the Europa League fixture against Manchester United.”

Mundo Deportivo reported that Raphinha was dropped after kicking a drinks refrigerator amid that outburst, though he did apologize publicly ahead of being replaced by Ferran Torres in the starting line up.

Amid El Nacional reporting that Xavi scolded his charge in the Camp Nou changing room for similar conduct when brought off against Girona, SPORT pointed to him possibly being overlooked for next Sunday’s game against Atletico Madrid at the same ground.

To DAZN Espana, Raphinha defended himself in the aftermath of the Getafe result and noted: “The last time I got angry I said I would try to make it the last, but it’s difficult.

“You like to be on the pitch and help the team win. We needed a goal to win. Anger is normal,” he added.