Raphinha hails Barcelona’s fighting spirit after Valencia win

Raphinha praised Barcelona’s fighting spirit after coming off the bench and teeing up Robert Lewandowski for the winner against Valencia on Saturday.

The Brazilian has been forced onto the sidelines in recent games but played a key role at Mestalla and spoke about the importance of the result after the match.

“We knew the importance of the game and the importance of picking up three points.

“The teams that want to fight for the title have to fight until the last minute and that is what we have done,” he said.

“We were able to get the victory. It was hard fought. We had to fight for every ball until the last minute.

“Valencia are a great team, you have to respect them a lot. They played a good game, but we were able to get the three points.”

The win puts Barcelona back on top of La Liga but they will be knocked off top spot on Sunday if Real Madrid avoid defeat against Girona.