Sport
Raphinha Breaks Messi’s Champions League Record with 20 Goal Contributions
Barcelona forward Raphinha has made history by breaking a club record previously held by the legendary Lionel Messi. He achieved this feat during Barcelona’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night.
Raphinha played a pivotal role in his side’s comeback, scoring once and providing an assist. After Barcelona found themselves 2-0 down, the Brazilian winger helped spark a revival, with his assist for Ferran Torres’ goal pulling the score back to 2-1.
That assist marked his 8th of the season in the competition, alongside 12 goals in just 13 appearances, bringing his total to 20 goal contributions—surpassing Messi’s previous record of 19 goal contributions in a single Champions League season, set in 2011-12.
Raphinha almost added to his tally with a powerful shot that hit the crossbar in the second half. The Brazilian has been in outstanding form this season, registering 51 goal contributions in 51 appearances across all competitions.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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Super Eagles Star Calvin Bassey Opens Up on Nearly Walking Away from Football
