Last night, as expected, all eyes after the match were on Lamine Yamal, who, at just 17 years old, celebrated his 100th appearance for Barcelona, becoming the youngest ever goal scorer in a Champions League semifinal. That said, without making too much noise, Raphinha left Leo Messi behind and is now chasing Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record in the Champions League.

Raphinha surpasses Messi’s best Champions season

After Lamine Yamal’s goal, which gave Barcelona some relief during the most critical moment of the match against Inter Milan, Raphinha stepped up once again to make the most of a fantastic pass from Pedri at the edge of the box, assisting Ferran Torres, who scored the equalizer before halftime. It was a key assist considering the timing of the match and, more importantly, because it allowed Raphinha to surpass Leo Messi’s best Champions League campaign with Barcelona, back in the 2011–2012 season.

In total, Raphinha has recorded 20 goal contributions in this current Champions League campaign, consisting of 12 goals and 8 assists. To understand just how influential he’s been for Barcelona, there have only been three matches in which Raphinha hasn’t contributed to a goal—against Monaco and Brest in the group stage, and later against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the quarterfinals.

Sommer denied Raphinha a tie with Cristiano

However, last night he could’ve reached the 21-goal-contribution record in a single Champions League season, which still belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo from the 2013–2014 season when he led Real Madrid to their tenth European Cup. This is especially relevant because, on the goal that sealed the 3–3 draw against Inter Milan, Raphinha had the misfortune of seeing his shot deflect off Sommer’s back, so the goal wasn’t credited to him.

In defense of Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, it’s worth mentioning that they achieved these numbers in fewer matches due to the format change the Champions League underwent this season. Still, that shouldn’t take anything away from the remarkable Champions campaign Raphinha is having—he will no doubt do everything he can to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in the second leg against Inter Milan, aiming to lead Barcelona to the Champions League final.