Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo, the Barcelona star, is producing a stunning goalscoring run,to the extent that he could be a candidate to replace Brazil's Raphinha in the false nine role.
Barcelona's left-back has made the most of his tactical and physical qualities, something that was plain to see against Galatasaray, and he is at the peak of his powers at the start of the 2026-2027 season, according to the Catalan newspaper "Mundo Deportivo".
Between Barcelona and the Portugal national team, Cancelo has racked up 3 goals and an assist in his last eight matches, four of them with the Catalan club and four with his national side.
Those numbers look even better when you remember he still has defensive duties out wide, on top of creating chances at the other end. Against Galatasaray he did both, scoring in a 4-1 win that could have been far heavier but for some sloppy finishing.
Twice this season Cancelo has opened the scoring for Barcelona, the first against Racing in La Liga and the second in the Galatasaray match in the Champions League.
His run started with that goal against Racing (7-2) on 16 September, and he found the net again from outside the box, though the ball rebounded off an opposition player on its way in.
He started against Sevilla on 19 September without scoring. Then came Denmark (2-4) on 1 October in the Nations League, where he struck again, and he repeated the trick on 4 October against Norway (2-1).
A substitute appearance followed against Getafe on 10 October before he returned to the starting line-up on 13 October, scoring his third goal in his last three matches against Galatasaray (1-4).