Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
For years, Barcelona’s best attacking data have been reserved for the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo Nazario. Nevertheless, Raphinha’s gorgeous Champions League efficiency towards Benfica has propelled him into that elite firm, etching his identify into Brazilian soccer historical past.
As soon as considered as a strong however unspectacular winger at Leeds, the 28-year-old is now main Barcelona’s cost in Europe, producing numbers paying homage to the membership’s golden period. Along with his brace in a 3-1 victory over Benfica, he shattered a Brazilian file within the UEFA Champions League, equaled Ronaldo Nazario’s Barcelona tally, and set his sights on surpassing Messi’s legendary mark.
Tuesday’s match towards Benfica on the Montjuic Stadium was extra than simply one other step towards the Blaugrana’s Champions League quarterfinal berth—it was a defining night time for Raphinha. The Brazilian winger scored twice within the first half, serving to his facet take a commanding 4-1 combination lead within the tie.
Whereas Brazil has produced many elite forwards, none have performed so within the Champions League as Raphinha has achieved this season. His two targets towards the Portuguese big took his tally to 11 within the competitors this marketing campaign, breaking Neymar’s file for essentially the most targets scored by a Brazilian in a single Champions League season.
Earlier than this, Neymar had set the benchmark within the 2014-15 season, when he netted ten targets to assist Barcelona win a historic treble alongside Messi and Luis Suarez. With at the very least two extra matches to play within the competitors, Raphinha has a chance to increase his file additional—and, maybe, match and even surpass Messi’s club-record 14-goal haul from the 2011-12 Champions League season.
Matching Ronaldo’s Barcelona purpose tally
Including to his historic night time, Raphinha’s brace introduced his complete Barcelona purpose tally to 48, putting him stage with Ronaldo Nazario. The Brazilian icon scored 47 targets in 49 video games throughout his sensational one-season spell at Camp Nou in 1996-97. Raphinha wanted 128 appearances to achieve the identical tally, however the significance of this feat can’t be understated.
Simply a 12 months in the past, his future in Catalonia was unsure. With rumors of an exit, few may have predicted his transformation into considered one of Europe’s most prolific wingers. Now, he stands facet by facet with one of many best forwards of all time in Barcelona’s file books.
Can Raphinha catch Lionel Messi?
Whereas matching Ronaldo Nazario’s tally and surpassing Neymar’s Champions League file are outstanding milestones, Raphinha now has Lionel Messi in his sights. Messi stays the one Barcelona participant to have scored greater than 11 targets in a single Champions League marketing campaign. The Argentine maestro set the file through the 2011-12 season, scoring 14 targets as he led the Blaugrana to the semifinals.
With Barcelona advancing to the quarter-finals, Raphinha has at the very least two extra video games to shut the hole. If Barcelona attain the ultimate, he may have as much as 5 extra matches—sufficient time to surpass Messi’s mark and even problem Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time file of 17 targets in a single Champions League season (2013-14).
