Raphinha strikes twice as Barcelona starts Champions League with 5-1 rout of Feyenoord

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With an on-fire Raphinha leading its attack, Barcelona doesn’t seem to need another striker after all.

The fiercely competitive Brazilian kept up his great start to the season on Wednesday by scoring twice to lead Barcelona’s 5-1 rout over Feyenoord in their Champions League opener.

His double combined with his La Liga-leading six goals makes Raphinha the top scorer in Europe with eight.

Raphinha got going at Camp Nou just three minutes into the match when he took a pass from Lamine Yamal in the box. He used one tap to send a pair of defenders sliding the wrong way, leaving him to size up the goal and fire home.

Raphinha made it 3-0 from a pass by Pedri in the 57th, adding to a goal by Karim Adeyemi.

Substituted late, Raphinha was first out of the dugout to embrace Yamal on the touchline after the Spain star stroked in a free kick to add to the victory.

“The truth is that a season has its ups and downs, and to start this season gives us a lot of confidence,” Raphinha told Movistar Plus.

The versatile Brazilian, who wears the No. 11 and combines energy and ruthless finishing like few others, was not supposed to spearhead Barcelona's attack.

Barcelona lost both Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres in the offseason and had been after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Álvarez to replace them. It had to settle for a hurried deal to acquire Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal at the end of the transfer window. With Jesus — who went on late and scored Barcelona's fifth on Wednesday — expected to mainly be used as a substitute, questions were raised in Barcelona if the team would have trouble scoring.

Now it looks like not spending big on another striker might have been the best non-move of a summer which saw the club add Rodri from Manchester City as well as wingers Anthony Gordon and Adeyemi.

Hansi Flick sure looked happy with his squad after a fifth win. The Barcelona coach lauded the energy that Raphinha gives his team up front, leading the press that the German insists on to quickly recovering the ball near scoring positions.

“Raphinha, we saw it today, his energy is great,” the Barcelona coach said. “We have a lot on the transition, on the counter, and when we keep the ball and wait to create situations.”

The 29-year-old Raphinha has successfully reinvented himself before.

He joined from Leeds in 2022 with the reputation as a hardworking, fast winger. But after Lamine Yamal erupted as its first-choice right-side player, Raphinha looked to be on his way out of the club.

Instead, Raphinha showed he could play just as well on the left side or even in an interior position. The result was explosive: 34 goals in the 2024-25 season as he helped Barcelona win La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and reach the Champions League semifinals.

Raphinha struggled with injuries last season and had his World Cup with Brazil cut short because of a hamstring pull. That likely played into him not making the 30 finalists for the Ballon d’Or that were announced on Tuesday. He finished fifth in the voting in the 2025 edition of the award.

This season, Raphinha has been a big reason why Barcelona is off to an intimidatingly good start in La Liga, where it has outscored opponents 17-2 in four rounds. That goal difference of plus 15 over the first four games is the best start in the history of the club.

When asked about not being on the Ballon d'Or list, Raphinha said he didn't want to talk about it.

“I only talk about how Barça is having a great season,” he said.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Barcelona's Raphinha dribbles past Feyenoord's Jerry St. Juste before scoring his team's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Feyenoord's Javi Lopez, right, tries to stop Barcelona's Raphinha during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates after scoring the opening goal of his team during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Barcelona's Raphinha scores the opening goal of his team during the Champions League opening phase soccer between Barcelona and Feyenoord in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Republicans are gathering in Dallas on Wednesday for a highly unusual two-day midterm convention, a first for the party, that will put President Donald Trump at the center of this fall’s midterm elections. Trump plans to take the stage both nights, delivering a keynote address Wednesday and then closing remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech on Thursday. Members of Trump’s Cabinet will also address the convention. Democrats, meanwhile, are planning their own counterprogramming.

Republicans hope the event, which is part rally and part fundraiser, will help catapult their candidates into November, primarily by highlighting the first two years of Trump’s term. The president has insisted that running on his record will give the GOP their best shot at winning, even as his own poll numbers sag.

Trump gave $45,000 holiday gifts to Natalie Harp and two other White House aides, according to new financial disclosures the administration released. A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the cash gifts were not related to the “individuals’ official government duties, and therefore are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.”

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The president and his onetime fixer have made up since Cohen went to prison and was a key witness in a 2024 business fraud trial that resulted in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts.

“What they did to Michael Cohen was a disgrace,” Trump said Wednesday.

Cohen spent three years in prison for federal crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal his boss’ alleged sexual affairs. Cohen told his sentencing judge that he did Trump’s “dirty deeds” out of “blind loyalty.”

Trump noted that Cohen “recanted” and said prosecutors “forced him to say things he didn’t want to say and that he didn’t believe.”

Cohen has told CNN he has submitted a pardon application to the White House.

Asked whether he’d pardon Cohen, the president said he’s “never been asked that question” and added he appreciated that Cohen “came out and rectified the situation.”

Gina Hinojosa said that if the GOP midterm convention kicking off Wednesday in Dallas is just about the culture wars, she doesn’t think people have the patience for that.

“People don’t want politics as usual and that is why our campaign is building momentum,” she said.

The state lawmaker is running against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a record fourth term in November.

She spoke in Dallas at a venue that featured thousands of volumes of files related to Jeffrey Epstein and met with women who have accused him of sexual abuse.

Hinojosa said it’s “really incredible that we live in a country where the justice system is so broken at every level that there has not been accountability.”

“We do not have a better ally in the region with regards to confronting the threat of criminal transnational organizations,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday in Ecuador, standing alongside Foreign Minister Roberto Kury.

Speaking first in Spanish, then in English, Rubio said “elite forces” from both countries “are working jointly on a day-to-day basis in a way that has no precedence in order to try to dismantle these terrorist organizations.”

Rubio also said he would be asking Congress for $45 million “to continue contributing towards this effort of dismantling these terrorist groups and finishing them once and for all.” However, he did not specify what the funds would be for.

Rubio visited Ecuador on Wednesday on the second leg of a three-nation tour of South America.

The Qatari-gifted Air Force One took off at around 2:55 p.m. ET after the issue with the inflatable emergency slide was resolved.

Asked whether he was sure the Qatari-gifted jet was safe for his trip to Texas, the president expressed no doubt: “Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.”

Trump said crews had been testing an emergency slide that was seen deployed on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.

After Trump boarded, a crew appeared to pack up and cart away the deployed slide.

Trump flew on the Qatari jet during his July trip to Turkey for the NATO summit. An older Air Force One was used as a decoy when he returned home from Ankara.

In Quito, Rubio announced his latest foreign terrorist organization designation of a Latin American drug trafficking ring: Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones.

The designation imposes sanctions on the group and its members and makes providing any kind of “material support” to it a U.S. criminal offense.

Perhaps more significantly, under the Trump administration’s counternarcotics strategy, it could make the group a target for military action.

Los Tiguerones are among 22 criminal gangs designated as “terrorists” by Ecuador’s government in 2024 after it declared an internal armed conflict during a surge in violence that included gunmen storming a television station during a live broadcast.

The gang’s top leader, William Alcívar, alias “Negro Willy,” was captured that year but later released.

The president rejected the idea that any Republicans might want to avoid attending the midterm convention.

“Everybody’s coming to the convention. Everybody wants to come,” Trump said.

The president claimed the arena doesn’t have space for every politician who wants to attend. “We have room for the ones that have a close race,” he said.

However, multiple Republicans with tight contests will be at home campaigning. Among them are Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, GOP Senate nominee John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Rep. David Valadao of California, one of the most vulnerable House Republicans.

Republicans have a razor-thin House majority and have grown increasingly worried about defending their 53-47 Senate majority.

Trump said Wednesday that oil prices that have surged because of the Iran war likely won’t come down until after U.S. midterm elections.

Oil prices jumped more than 3% today, pushing international Brent crude past the $100 threshold for the first time since July as salvos between the U.S. and Iran escalated.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”

Trump, in an exchange with reporters before traveling to Dallas for the midterm Republican convention, added that he believes Iran will finally relent after the pivotal elections are held in the U.S.

“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.

At the outset of the war, the president said it would last a matter of weeks. The war is now in its seventh month.

The organizers say they understand why many Republicans are skipping the Dallas midterm convention.

“One thing, we just have so many speaking slots. We can’t get them all in,” Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, told reporters before the convention’s kickoff at an event hosted by Bloomberg News. “The other is: If you’re not in a contested race, it really doesn’t make much sense to come. And the ones in contested races, they need to be in their home states to campaign.”

Nonetheless, he said about 30,000 people are expected to attend over the two nights.

“It’s going to be a packed house. It’s going to be raucous,” said Rick Gorka, a convention spokesperson.

Despite Trump’s low approval ratings, Washburne said the president “absolutely” remains an asset and that it makes sense for him to be prominent.

“He’s always front-and-center,” he said.

The president said, “We’re going to have a tremendous crowd tonight” in Dallas, adding that the ticketed event is “sold out.”

“Looks very big. Looks very exciting, and we’re going to explain what we’ve done,” Trump added before boarding Air Force One.

Trump wanted the unusual midterm convention to boost excitement among Republican voters. His approval ratings have dropped over the course of this election year.

Even though he’s not on the ballot, that threatens GOP majorities in the House and Senate.

An emergency inflated slide was visible on the side of Air Force One.

Trump told reporters on the tarmac that crews were testing the slide. He had stayed on Marine One for several minutes after arriving at Joint Base Andrews before emerging to talk to reporters.

Trump said he’s confident the aircraft is safe as he travels to Texas.

The vice president is using his time in Dallas to meet with Republican delegations from three key presidential battleground states, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Vance, keynoting the Midterm Republican Convention on Thursday evening, is talking at a morning breakfast with GOP leaders and activists from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, some of the most competitive states in the 2024 election, as well as his home state of Ohio.

Vance has not said whether he plans to seek the 2028 Republican nomination, but is widely expected to explore running to succeed Trump.

The Illinois governor demurred about his own White House plans. But he certainly was thinking about the potential Republican candidate who is now vice president.

Blasting the Republicans who are speaking at the GOP midterm convention, Pritzker called Vance “Trump’s chief bootlicker” and said the vice president “wants to hide the fact that he’s the architect of Trump’s endless war in Iran.”

Vance has declined to share publicly how he has advised Trump on Iran.

As a senator and as Trump’s running mate, Vance advocated for less U.S. military intervention abroad and specifically criticized “stupid wars” fought by previous administrations. He has been less critical of the Iran war, having to balance his role as Trump’s understudy with his previous statements about the U.S. role in the world.

The potential 2028 White House contender came to Dallas to urge voters not to be distracted by Trump’s made-for-TV event.

“Voters can see through the BS that Republicans are spewing,” Pritzker told reporters.

Among other aspects of Trump’s record, Pritzker cited the Iran war, Trump’s trade war with Canada, and rising prices on gas, housing, healthcare, and other consumer goods.

And he framed the 80-year-old Trump as a “president suffering from dementia, who unleashed violence on our cities, who jacked up grocery prices, screwed our farmers, and now has you paying for his gaudy golden ballroom.”

Pritzker brushed aside questions about his own presidential ambitions.

He’s running for a third term as governor and said he’d decide his next moves after November.

The U.N. atomic watchdog’s board reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 20 years for failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at various undeclared sites in Iran.

Twenty-three countries on the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors voted Wednesday for the resolution at IAEA headquarters in Vienna.

China, Russia and Niger opposed it, while eight countries abstained and one didn’t vote as it was in arrears.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany put forward the resolution.

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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro was peppered with questions about her decision to drop a criminal case against a former Olympian who was charged with intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a move the president strongly criticized.

Trump has said Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in seeking to dismiss a felony charge against David Hearn.

At an unrelated press conference, Pirro wouldn’t answer reporters’ questions about her charging decision.

“I’m not going to talk about any other issue,” she said in one of her first public appearances since the decision. “The president has a right to decide what he wants to do and what is important.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that most of the pool damage was caused by vandals. But Pirro’s office cited evidence that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as a rush to complete the project.

Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” said Wednesday’s decision on whether to extend protections against deportation for Salvadorans in the U.S. rests with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

“If it expires, it’s up to the secretary,” Homan, who has advocated for ending the Temporary Protected Status designation, said Tuesday. “Temporary protected status means temporary. Let’s face it, El Salvador is a much safer country than it’s ever been now with a new president up there.”

Dozens of protesters rallied in South Korea’s capital Wednesday, calling on the government to reject any U.S. demand to deploy military assets to the Strait of Hormuz.

They chanted slogans and held signs and letter cards that read “Oppose the deployment” and “Do not join a war of aggression.”

The government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said it sent a team of military investigators to the Middle East to assess the security situation, but has not made any decision on whether to deploy military assets.

Trump has openly demanded that South Korea help secure safe passage through the critical oil route, complaining that Seoul has been unwilling to help. Iran has warned of “serious consequences” if South Korea participates in U.S. operations around the waterway.

The vast majority of Salvadoran TPS holders have children born in the U.S. Many fear being separated from their American family members and deported to a country they barely know.

Once one of the world’s most violent places, El Salvador has become one of the safest since President Nayib Bukele cracked down on violent crimes and murders. Human rights advocates have denounced mass and arbitrary arrests, torture, and disappearances in the prison system.

Bukele has been an ally of Trump’s policy of mass deportations and was one of the first countries to receive deportees, holding them inside El Salvador’s mega prison known as CECOT.

Bukele hasn’t said whether he requested another extension like he did during Trump’s first term. The $9.9 billion in remittances sent last year by Salvadorans in the U.S. represents 24% of country’s gross domestic product, according to its central bank.

The law doesn’t specify when exactly on Wednesday is the deadline for the Trump administration to decide if it should end TPS for Salvadorans, as it has done for hundreds of thousands from Venezuela, Haiti and other countries. If the Department of Homeland Security takes no action, protections are automatically extended for six months. This rare reprieve happened for about 11,000 Lebanese in May.

During Trump’s second term, Homeland Security has ended TPS for more than 1 million people from 14 countries, including El Salvador, Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Syria. About 103,000 others remain protected, until October for Ukraine and Sudan, and November for Lebanon.

FILE - People protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

National Guard troops stop a young woman on a rental scooter near a closed intersection where President Donald Trump was holding an event, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the Tunnel to Towers Foundation event for the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A Mercedes decorated with images of President Donald Trump is seen outside before the Republican convention Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)