Barcelona star Raphinha was slammed for putting his individual numbers ahead of the team during the 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals.
La Liga leaders Barca have all but secured their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League after thrashing Bundesliga side Dortmund at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.
The hosts dominated from the outset, creating a number of chances to score in the opening ten minutes.
Raphinha broke the deadlock on 25 minutes, sliding in and poking the ball over the line after Pau Cabarsi steered it past Dortmund’s goalkeeper.
There was a tense wait for Barcelona as VAR checked whether Raphinha had started his run from an offside position.
Replays showed the Brazilian was narrowly onside but his decision to ‘nick’ the goal from a team-mate still led to criticism from former Real Madrid star Steve McManaman.
‘Imagine trying to nick that from your mate!’ he said on TNT Sports’ commentary of the game. ‘Imagine sticking your leg out there.
‘There’s no need for it, that’s the greed of the centre-forward, the goalscorer, he wanted another goal.
‘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.’
Once VAR cleared the goal, Raphinha was able to properly enjoy his 17th goal contribution in this season’s Champions League.
The former Leeds United star’s form has led to calls for Raphinha to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Raphinha turned goalscorer to provider to assist Barcelona’s second goal shortly after half-time, this time Robert Lewandowski getting on the scoresheet.
Lewandowski netted another as Barcelona took complete control of the tie – his 99th goal for the Spanish giants – before Lamine Yamal capped a lively performance with his side’s fourth.
Assessing Barca’s performance at full-time, McManaman added: ‘It was a very accomplished performance from Barcelona.
‘They’ve done tonight what they’ve done for the majority for the year: cruised through the game and scored four more goals.’
Barcelona will take a commanding four-goal lead to Dortmund for next week’s return leg, with Bayern Munich or Inter Milan awaiting in the semi-finals.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.