Raphinha breaks his 'curse' against Benfica with his 4th brace of the 24-25 season

Raphinha was the MVP of Benfica-FC Barcelona (4-5), a historic result that allowed the culés to secure their direct ticket to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League and also served as personal revenge for the Brazilian winger against the Lisbon team. The '11' of Barça faced the 'eagles' eight times during his time in the Portuguese league without achieving any official victory, a 'curse' that finally came to an end on Tuesday.

The night, however, seemed destined for another frustration for the Porto Alegre native in a Estadio Da Luz that has always been challenging for him and for Barça. The Catalans had only managed to win once (in 2012) in the 'nest' of Benfica and, with 13 minutes left, they were losing 4-2. However, the team led by Hansi Flick reacted in time to achieve a historic comeback in which Rafa was a key player.

The 28-year-old forward scored the partial 3-2 in the 64th minute after a poor long clearance from goalkeeper Trubin that, after hitting the head of the South American player, ended up going into the net. A completely fortuitous deflection that began to tilt the balance in favor of the culés. Afterwards, Robert Lewandowski (from a penalty in the 78th minute) and Eric García, also with a header in the 86th minute, equalized the score amidst a downpour in Lisbon.

On the ninth attempt, Raphinha finally triumphed against Benfica

When the draw seemed certain, Raphinha turned a lethal counterattack into the final play of the match for the definitive 4-5. The Brazilian received the ball from Fermín López and left two opponents behind before finishing with a lethal strike, to the near post of a Trubin who was trying to cover his right side. Amidst the chaos of the azulgrana celebrations, there was a brawl where Rafa, due to his past with Sporting CP, was one of the most insulted.

In the end, nothing escalated further, and in his ninth encounter against the 'eagles', the Porto Alegre native was finally able to celebrate. The forward faced the Lisbon team five times wearing the Vitoria de Guimaraes jersey, all resulting in defeats. He then moved to the 'lions', where he also had no luck in three encounters. The record was devastating: 1 draw and 7 losses, with only 1 goal scored and two Portuguese Super Cups lost. With his brace on Tuesday, the fourth of the season, Rafa reached 22 goals in 30 matches.