{"id":99067,"date":"2025-04-10T07:17:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T11:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/?p=99067"},"modified":"2025-04-10T07:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T11:17:18","slug":"raphinha-the-unexpected-champions-league-goal-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/raphinha-the-unexpected-champions-league-goal-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Raphinha: The Unexpected Champions League Goal-Machine & His Topps NOW Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After another dominant Champions League display, you’d be forgiven for assuming the spotlight would fall on Robert Lewandowski, still finding the net at 36, or Lamine Yamal, Barcelona\u2019s latest academy prodigy lighting up the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead, it\u2019s Raphinha who\u2019s stealing the show\u2014leading the Champions League goal charts with a jaw-dropping 12 goals\u2026 from the left wing, no less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we dive into Raphinha\u2019s most electrifying moments from the campaign, with a little help from his Topps NOW cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Raphinha – Hits hat-trick on 100th game for Barca – 24\/25 UCC Topps NOW\u00ae Card 30<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Raphinha marked his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona in unforgettable fashion, scoring a brilliant hat-trick against Bayern Munich to celebrate the milestone. In the centenary match, he proudly wore the captain\u2019s armband at the Estadi Ol\u00edmpic and delivered a performance to remember. The fans showed their appreciation with a standing ovation as he was substituted late in the second half, a moment that underlined just how much Raphinha had won their hearts with his fearless, passionate displays in a Bar\u00e7a shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Raphinha – Dramatic last-minute winner in nine-goal thriller – 24\/25 UCL Topps NOW\u00ae Card 74<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Raphinha sealed one of the most dramatic nights in recent Champions League history, scoring deep into stoppage time to hand Barcelona a stunning 5-4 comeback win over Benfica and a place in the last 16. Despite Vangelis Pavlidis netting a first-half hat-trick to give the hosts a 3-1 lead at the break\u2014and later pushing it to 4-2\u2014Bar\u00e7a refused to back down. Raphinha had already sparked the comeback with a bizarre goal, as a clearance bounced off his head and looped in from 25 yards. Then, with the game poised at 4-4 and Benfica appealing for a late penalty, a long ball released Raphinha on the break. The Brazilian kept his cool and slotted home the winner in the 96th minute, capping off an unforgettable night in Lisbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Raphinha – 2024-25 UCL Topps NOW\u00ae Card 117<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Barcelona dug deep to earn a gritty 1-0 win away at Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with Raphinha firing home the decisive goal in the second half. The Catalan side were forced to play over an hour with 10 men after teenage defender Pau Cubars\u00ed was sent off in the 22nd minute for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis. But despite relentless pressure from the hosts, Bar\u00e7a held firm\u2014thanks largely to a heroic performance from stand-in goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who made eight crucial saves. His efforts were rewarded in the 61st minute, when Raphinha pounced on a loose pass across the box and rifled in a low shot that deflected past the keeper. It was Barcelona\u2019s only shot on target in the second half, but it proved to be enough\u2014securing a famous win built on resilience, grit, and a moment of Brazilian brilliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Raphinha – 2024-25 UCL Topps NOW\u00ae Card 122<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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While much of the spotlight was on teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, it was Raphinha who quietly continued his remarkable Champions League campaign with another clinical brace in Barcelona\u2019s quarter-final-clinching win over Benfica. The Brazilian opened the scoring after being set up by Yamal, then sealed the result with a cool finish into the bottom corner\u2014his second of the night and 11th of the tournament. The brace took his total goal contributions in this season\u2019s Champions League to 16 (11 goals, 5 assists), making it one of the most prolific individual campaigns in Bar\u00e7a\u2019s European history. Only Lionel Messi has been involved in more goals for the club in a single Champions League season\u2014his 14 goals and five assists in 2011\u201312 remaining the gold standard. Raphinha, though, isn\u2019t far behind – especially with a goal and two more assists in the 4-0 win over Dortmund in the Quarter Final first leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Role of Topps NOW in Your Collection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Raphinha\u2019s Champions League heroics this season\u2014from his dramatic last-gasp winner in Lisbon to his clinical brace against Benfica\u2014have not only propelled Barcelona forward, but also earned a permanent place in collectors\u2019 hearts thanks to Topps NOW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These moments, defined by raw emotion, world-class finishing, and historic significance, are exactly the kind of events Topps NOW was made to capture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With stunning, high-quality imagery and real-time releases, Topps NOW cards allow fans to own a slice of football history as it unfolds\u2014whether it\u2019s Raphinha wearing the captain\u2019s armband in his 100th appearance or coolly slotting home to knock out a European giant. Each card is a time capsule, printed on demand and only available for a limited window, making every Raphinha highlight not just memorable, but collectible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For fans and collectors alike, Topps NOW<\/a> turns fleeting brilliance into a lasting treasure\u2014one card at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Relive some of the Brazilian’s best UCL moments this season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":99084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football-3"],"acf":{"color_theme":"rgba(255,80,119,1)"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/606"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripped.topps.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}