'Phenomenal' & 'breathtaking' - Raphinha on course for history

When Raphinha reported for pre-season training with Barcelona last summer, he would have not imagined he would be at the club nine months later, never mind enjoy a dream season.

The Brazilian forward came into the campaign after two underwhelming years, following a £55m move from Leeds in 2022.

Since then the 28-year-old has led Barcelona on a Treble pursuit, with the Blaugrana four points clear at the top of La Liga and through to the final of the Copa del Rey.

On Wednesday they placed one foot firmly in the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Dortmund in the first-leg of their last-eight tie.

"That's 23 games unbeaten now for Barcelona. They still keep the ball, they dominate possession, and they're ruthless when you give them space," Karen Carney said on TNT Sports.

"Because of the frontline, they just keep outscoring you. You'd be terrified to face them."

Raphinha is enjoying the best season of his career by far, with 28 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.

With his efforts against Dortmund, he also equalled Lionel Messi's club record for goal involvements in a single Champions League campaign.

Raphinha's 25th-minute opener and subsequent assists for Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal took him to 19 goal involvements in 11 games this campaign, the same number Messi achieved in 11 outings in 2011-12.

"It is phenomenal. It is breathtaking when you put him in the same bracket as Messi with four games potentially remaining," Stephen Warnock told BBC Match of the Day.

Three more and Raphinha will break the all-time Champions League record, set in 2013-14 when Cristiano Ronaldo contributed to 21 goals in 11 games while at Real Madrid.

Having also created 34 chances in the competition this term, the second most, Raphinha's exploits alongside Lewandowski and Yamal have made him a contender for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.

"I love playing with players of a very high level," he said after the Dortmund encounter. "We are managing to make spectacular numbers and I hope we continue like this."

Goal machine Lewandowski in new landmark

Anything you can do, I can do better.

Poland striker Lewandowski may well be approaching the end of his career, but he is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.

The 36-year-old's double against former club Dortmund took him to 99 goals in 140 games for Barca, while he became the first player in Europe's top five leagues to score 40 goals across all competitions this season.

Lewandowski is also enjoying his best season in Barca colours, having already surpassed his totals from 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The ruthless finishes against Dortmund were typical of his scoring habits in Spain - 93 of his 99 goals have come inside the penalty area.

On a night to remember, the Poland captain has become the first player in Champions League history to score 10 or more goals in a single season for three different teams - Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

'An attack that can help win Champions League'

While Raphinha's goal kept him at the top of the Champions League scoring charts this season with 12, Lewandowski leapfrogged Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy into second place with 11.

Two team-mates occupying the top two spots in the top scorers list is actually quite rare, having happened just twice in the last 20 years.

Lewandowski and then-Bayern Munich team-mate Serge Gnabry did so in 2019-20 (24 goals combined), after Neymar and Messi achieved the same for Barca in 2014-15 (20 goals combined).

The same has happened on four other occasions in the competition's history.

But Raphinha and Lewandowski are only two thirds of Barca's deadly attacking trio, as 17-year-old Yamal has scored 14 goals and set up a further 18 this term.

On Wednesday, he became the youngest player in Champions League history to make 20 starts in the competition (17 years and 270 days).

The trio have 82 goals between them this season and have put the fear into defences.

"That Barcelona attack, that's a team who can win the Champions League," journalist Rory Smith told BBC Match of the Day.

"They are as good at going forward as anybody."

'One of the best in the world'

Raphinha's journey from Porto Alegre to Barcelona's dressing room is a story of resilience, discipline, and continuous self-improvement. His transformation into a top-level performer is not just about talent. It's about mindset, sacrifice, and an unwavering desire to succeed.

Raphinha was raised in the relentless, grinding poverty seen across the sprawling shanty towns that litter the landscape in and around the neighbourhood of Restinga in the city of Porto Alegre.

In a neighbourhood where violence and drug trafficking are often a way of life, Raphael Dias Belloli knew from an early age that football was not just a way out - it was the only way out.

He struggled initially playing for an elite club like Barcelona.

Coach Xavi saw him more as a squad member than an undisputed starter and even when he started to be a regular in the line-up, he rarely played full games.

Barcelona's inability to buy without selling first due to financial issues put him firmly in the frame as the club's biggest playing asset and the player most likely to be sold, especially while Barcelona were trying to sign Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams last summer.

Focus was also elsewhere with the precocious and outrageously talented Lamine Yamal the centre of everyone's attention and effectively undroppable.

In two seasons at the club, Raphinha was used off the bench 11 times and started just 42 games out of a possible 76.

The message coming out of Barcelona was simple. "We don't want to lose you, but we think you ought to go," seemed to be the gist of it.

Raphinha had other ideas, although it was a close-run thing.

"There were several moments, not just one [when I considered leaving]," he admitted.

"There was a lot of self-doubt. I have a nasty habit of criticising myself heavily, so to speak, so that pressure made me think about leaving."

The dismissal of manager Xavi in May and subsequent appointment of Hansi Flick changed everything.

The German coach gave Raphinha a bigger role and allowed him to play with confidence. He is now a player reborn.

Flick focused his work on the importance of making smarter decisions, knowing when to dribble, when to pass, and the more direct style suited him too.

These days he loses the ball less and is more efficient and composed in front of goal.

Nobody should argue his right to be considered one of the top players in the world.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.