Raphinha became Barcelona’s leading Brazilian scorer in Champions League history after his two-goal display helped the club beat Aston Villa 3-0 on Tuesday evening.
The Brazil international struck twice in the second half during the fourth round of the competition’s league phase, taking his total for Barcelona in the tournament to 23 goals.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, finding the net with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. He doubled Barcelona’s advantage 12 minutes later when he finished from a cross delivered by Joao Cancelo.
The victory completed an outstanding run of form for Raphinha, who has now scored 19 goals and provided three assists in 13 appearances in all competitions this season.
According to statistics published by MisterChip, his latest goals moved him above two of Barcelona’s most celebrated Brazilian players in the club’s Champions League scoring list.
Rivaldo scored 22 goals in the competition for Barcelona, while Neymar da Silva managed 21. Raphinha now leads both players with 23.
His latest achievement also moved him into the top 10 Brazilian scorers in Champions League history. He is level with former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino on 23 goals.
Neymar is the leading Brazilian goalscorer in the history of the competition, having scored 43 times for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Raphinha also drew level with Robert Lewandowski as Barcelona’s joint-third highest scorer in the Champions League. He now needs two more goals to match Luis Suarez, who occupies second place on the club’s all-time list.
Lionel Messi remains Barcelona’s leading scorer in the competition, with 120 goals.
The result gave Barcelona a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the Champions League, with Raphinha’s double providing the defining contribution.
