Despite leaving the pitch in tears after a gut-punching defeat at San Siro, Barcelona‘s Raphinha has equalled one of Cristiano Ronaldo‘s all-time Champions League records this evening.
It was Raphinha who netted Barca’s third goal of the evening at San Siro, which put them 3-2 up on the night and 6-5 in front on aggregate with just three minutes of normal time remaining.
However, Barca would go on to concede a stoppage-time equaliser to Francesco Acerbi, before losing in extra time in what will surely go down as the greatest Champions League tie of all time.
That goal though, albeit now in vain, has written Raphinha’s name into the record books, joining the legendary figure of Ronaldo in a very exclusive club.
Raphinha’s equals Ronaldo’s Champions League record
Raphinha’s goal took him 21 goal involvements across the Champions League campaign, netting his 13th goal to add to an equally-impressive tally of eight assists.
That is the same tally Ronaldo managed during Real Madrid’s successful 2013-14 campaign, when the club completed La Decima, by beating rivals Atletico Madrid in the showpiece event.
The Barca man has managed the feat in 14 games, which is three more than Ronaldo, but that will not detract from what has been a phenomenal season by a player who will remain in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or, despite their exit tonight.
Even with the new expanded format, it is tough to see any player replicating Ronaldo’s scoring feats from that 2013-14 season, when he found the net 17 times in just 11 UCL matches.
The great Lionel Messi could not even get close to matching that sort of record, as the Barca legend’s best scoring season in the competition saw him notch 14 goals, meaning Raphinha was just one shy of equalling him, and the club record for goals in a campaign.
Could Raphinha still win the Ballon d’Or
Tonight’s defeat will by no means end Raphinha’s hopes of taking the individual gong, because there is still a high chance that they will win the treble this season.
Avoiding defeat against Real Madrid in El Clasico at Montjuic at the weekend will take them one huge step closer to completing a domestic treble, and Raphinha has been the driving force behind their charge towards the La Liga title all season.
With 32 goals across all competitions, few players in Europe can lay claim to having had a better season than the 28-year-old, and three major honours would be the least Raphinha deserves for his efforts this season.
However, whoever goes on to win the Champions League often produces the next Ballon d’Or winner, but there is no one standout candidate from the Inter Milan side in particular, which could work in Raphinha’s favour.
No Data Analysis info
