Raphinha surpasses Neymar Champions League record in Barcelona win | OneFootball

Barcelona talisman Raphinha added to his swollen goal haul this season with a brace against Benfica in Tuesday's knockout round victory, taking his tally to a staggering 11 in the Champions League alone this season.

Raphinha had scored the only goal for Barcelona in a narrow first-leg victory over Benfica last week and doubled his side's aggregate lead with the opening goal at Montjuic. Nicolas Otamendi reduced the deficit for the visitors before Lamine Yamal curled in a stunning second to make his own piece of history and it was Raphinha who concluded the scoring in a 3-1 win.

Only five other Brazilians have ever hit double digits for Champions League goals in a single campaign - and Raphinha now stands alone in terms of continental potency in the storied history of his nation.

Neymar matched the previous record of ten Champions League goals for a Brazilian when Barcelona won a European treble during the 2014/15 campaign. Raphinha has his sights set on a similar target. "I think we're contenders to win it all," the forward insisted after advancing to the quarter-finals where they will face one of Lille or Borussia Dortmund.

Barcelona currently lead La Liga and face Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final next month with the aggregate score level at 4-4.

Not all too long ago, Barcelona's ambitions of European success were limited to the Europa League. No one netted more than three goals in last season's competition while the Catalans famously crashed out of the 2021/22 Champions League group stage after scoring a total of just two goals.

Lionel Messi was the last player to hit double digits in Europe for Barcelona, racking up 12 goals en route to the semi-finals in the 2018/19 campaign. With figures comparable to the likes of prime Neymar and Messi, it's little wonder that Hansi Flick has tipped Raphinha to win the Ballon d'Or.