The breakout of Raphinha

Raphinha arrived in Spain from Leeds as a speedy, hard-working right winger.

But coach Xavi Hernández ended up preferring Ousmane Dembele in that position and Raphinha was not a key player during the 2022 La Liga title run. Then, after Dembele left, Raphinha saw teen phenom Lamine Yamal explode and again push him to the bench.

Instead of sulking, Raphinha reinvented himself as a left-side winger and a creative midfielder and immediately convinced Flick that he had to be in his starting 11. He has since become the most improved player for a top team in Spain this season, scoring 22 goals across all competitions. He had managed 10 goals in each of his first two campaigns with the club.

And those goals have been big ones. He scored three goals in two lopsided wins over Real Madrid, and he netted a brace, including an incredible solo breakaway goal, to stun Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League earlier this week.

Lewandowski remains as good as ever

When Lewandowski arrived from Bayern Munich in 2022, many thought that Barcelona would be lucky to get a couple of good seasons from the Poland star before he entered the twilight of his career.

But Lewandowski is on a romp with a whopping 28 goals in 29 games overall, including a Champions League leading nine goals. Raphinha is next with eight.