Raphinha emulated Neymar’s celebration after scoring a brace in Barcelona’s win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
♦ Raphinha pulled out Neymar’s celebration
♦ Netted a brace in Barcelona’s win
♦ The Catalan side will carry a 3-2 lead to the second leg
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Brazilian winger netted a brace as Barcelona edged out Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final fixture at Parc des Princes on Wednesday. After scoring his second goal of the night, Raphinha emulated his compatriot Neymar’s trademark celebration of putting his hands on his head while sticking his tongue out.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The former Leeds United star opened the scoring for the Catalan giants in the first half, but PSG fought back strongly at the beginning of the second half as Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha found the back of the net in a span of two minutes. Raphinha then completed his brace with a brilliant finish in the 62nd minute while substitute Andreas Christensen scored his maiden goal of the season to hand his team an important first-leg lead.
DID YOU KNOW?
Neymar performed this celebration for the first time in 2022 after scoring for PSG against Brest from Lionel Messi’s assist. After the game, the Brazilian explained the reason behind the new celebration as he wrote on X that it was dedicated to his ‘haters’.
WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?
The reigning champions will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they take on Cadiz in an important fixture before they host the Ligue 1 giants for the second leg next week.