Barcelona attacker Raphinha has tied with Lionel Messi as the player with the most direct goal involvements (19) in a single edition of the Champions League.
The Spanish giants eased past Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, beating the Bundesliga club 4-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.
Barca are also first in La Liga and lead second-placed Real Madrid by four points with eight games remaining, and the team’s success this campaign has been spearheaded by the forward line.
Veteran Robert Lewandowski and teenager Lamine Yamal have flourished alongside Brazilian Raphinha, with the trio scoring 74 goals between them in the league and Champions League.
Raphinha has himself scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in Europe’s premier competition and has drawn level with Messi as the Barcelona player with the most direct goal involvements in a single edition of the Champions League, a feat the legendary Argentine achieved in 2011-12.
© Imago
Why Raphinha is favourite ahead of Salah
Raphinha’s form for his club has seen many label the 28-year-old as the favourite for the Ballon d’Or, with his Champions League performances separating him from the rest of the pack.
One of his main rivals for the award was thought to be Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah, but the Egyptian was eliminated from Europe when his side lost a penalty shootout in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain on March 11.
It should be noted that Salah has managed to score 33 goals and provide 22 assists for the Reds in all competitions this term, directly contributing to 54 of his team’s 109 goals.
However, Raphinha’s numbers across all competitions is also impressive, with the forward finding the back of the net 28 times while registering 20 assists.
The Barca attacker’s 13 goals and eight assists in La Liga fall some way short of Salah’s numbers in the Premier League given the Liverpool winger has scored 27 goals and provided 17 assists in the top flight.
When looking at their Champions League stats, while Salah scored three and assisted four goals in nine games, Raphinha’s tally of 19 goal contributions in 10 matches is significantly more than the Egyptian’s total.
Considering Champions League contributions are regarded as more significant than contributions in domestic leagues, it is not surprising that Raphinha is seen as the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or.
