Raphinha's impact at Leeds United since his October arrival has been the definition of hitting the ground running.
A stellar display in what turned out to be a warm-up act for his first-team heroics saw him put Norwich City's U-23s to the sword at Thorp Arch, before announcing himself with verve and attacking guile aplenty in a handful of substitute appearances.
His first starts warranted praise, and concern for Helder Costa's chances of returning to the starting XI, such were the quality of his displays against Arsenal and Everton.
The Brazilian netted the game's only goal in a difficult battle at Goodison Park, cutting inside from the right before firing beyond an outstretched Jordan Pickford.
Good performances and poor results followed with defeats to Chelsea and West Ham United, before the 5-2 demolition of Newcastle United in which the 24-year-old was unfortunate not to find the net.
Two assists and a volley off the woodwork at Old Trafford followed, showing that even in poor team showings, Raphinha's quality was capable of shining through.
His goal at The Hawthorns was almost a carbon copy of the final movement which allowed him to score his first Whites goal against Everton.
Cutting inside off the right, Raphinha beat a handful of weak West Brom challenges before wiggling into a shooting position. His left foot did the rest, firing powerfully past Sam Johnstone.
In a macro sense, this goal had been coming given his recent form, but in a micro sense, it was a culmination of fantastic pattern play down the right which Leeds engage in every game.
Stuart Dallas and Raphinha interchanged passes between bodies near the halfway line, before the Northern Irishman set his South American counterpart free down the channel.
Raphinha has a tendency to cut inside - he likes doing it because it allows him to get into better shooting positions. Notably, he did exactly the same with Stade Rennais, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Vitoria Guimaraes, his former clubs.
Against Everton, Raphinha took up that central position, with a teammate making that inward movement - this time in the form of a pass.
Versus West Brom, the motion was the same: Leeds building down the right and finding space centrally for the shot. Raphinha did it all himself on that occasion, and demonstrated how capable he was.
Sam Allardyce's analysts should have picked this up in West Bromwich Albion's preparation for the game. Leeds have made it a key facet of their play to rotate positions and recycle the ball down the right, in order to stretch opponents and open space in the middle.
Unfortunately for Allardyce and West Brom, their inability to combat this led to Leeds' fifth and final goal. It is arguable that at this point, Raphinha's goal scarcely mattered, but in the grand scheme of things, West Brom's final position could ultimately be decided by their goal difference.
Leeds United face Tottenham Hotspur next on January 2nd, despite Spurs' latest fixture against Fulham being postponed due to a number of positive coronavirus cases.
