Barcelona may have thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday but one of their main men still faced criticism for a "greedy" moment i the win.
The Blaugrana battered the Bundesliga outfit in the quarter final first leg, with Robert Lewandowski bagging a brace against his former side and Raphinha and Lamine Yamal both on target at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.
Raphinha continued his excellent form with his 12th goal in the Champions League and his 28th in all competitions, as well two assists. The former Leeds United man is well in Ballon d'Or contention but he irked some fans and pundits with the manner in which he scored his latest goal.
Pau Cubarsi's header was almost definitely going in but Raphinha took the goal off him by sliding in at the far post in the 25th minute.
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A VAR check ensued to determine whether Raphinha was offside prior to poking home and his blushes were spared as the goal stood despite a tight call.
However, Raphinha was panned for essentially "stealing" an opponent's goal and just about getting away with it - with former Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman leading the criticism.
"There’s no need for it, that’s the greed of the centre-forward, the goalscorer, he wanted another goal," McManaman said on TNT Sports commentary.
"He’s got away with it, he’s just onside. I’ve got no idea why he’s trying to poke that in from there.
"He can see the whole goal, he can see the ball going into the net. There’s absolutely no need for it.
"If he stole that you’d go mad even if he’s not offside. He nearly scuppered it up. It’s a lovely goal until Raphinha gets involved and steals it on the line."
Another fan weighed in on X and wrote, "Raphinha snatching Cubarsi’s goal to boost his Ballon d’Or chances", while his actions were also called "unnecessary" and "disgraceful" by others.
Spanish newspaper MARCA did not pull any punches, with an article writing: "That's something you just don't do, especially not to a kid like Cubarsi, who was making his [first] Champions League goal."
Raphinha issues apology for stealing Barcelona goal
Footage taken from the game appeared to show Cubarsi asking Raphinha if he got a touch on the ball and the Brazilian confirming the goal was his as the pair ran off.
After the win, Raphinha spoke about the controversy and revealed he had apologised to his young teammate.
Speaking to media, Raphinha said: "I was worried about being offside. I told him I'd touched the ball earlier, apologised and said I'd count it as an assist. I want to score goals and I'm here for that. I didn't know if it was going in yet."
Topics:Â Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, Fan Reactions
Josh Lawless