Barcelona forward Raphinha has set a new Champions League record, surpassing Brazilian legends Neymar, Kaka, Rivaldo, Jardel, and Roberto Firmino.
The 28-year-old achieved this milestone on Tuesday after scoring twice in Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Benfica in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.
Raphinha’s brace against Benfica means he became the most prolific Brazilian scorer in a single Champions League season, breaking the previous mark held by Neymar, Kaka and Rivaldo, Jardel and Roberto Firmino.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 11th minute at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, giving Barcelona a 2-0 aggregate lead.
Benfica’s Nicolás Otamendi quickly equalized, but Lamine Yamal restored Barcelona’s advantage in the 27th minute. Raphinha then netted his second goal just before halftime, setting the new record with 11 goals in this season’s competition.
Former Brazilian internationals Rivaldo and Jardel – both in the 1999-2000 season – for Barcelona and Porto, respectively, had set the previous mark of 10 goals scored by a Brazilian in a Champions League season.
But seven years later, Kaka joined the club by leading AC Milan to the 2006-2007 Champions League glory.
Neymar then joined the illustrious trio in Barcelona’s historic treble-winning 2014-2015 season before Roberto Firmino became the latest entrant in the 2017-2018 campaign when he was playing for Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Raphinha now has 27 goals and 19 assists in 41 games across competitions for Hansi Flick’s side after scoring a brace against Benfica.
The former Leeds United star now has eleven goals in the Champions League this season.