Paris Saint Germain forward Neymar has now surpassed Kaka and all of his fellow countrymen to become Brazil’s all time most prolific player in the UEFA Champions League.
Neymar got his name on the score sheet for Paris St. Germain against Liverpool, scoring his team’s second goal of the match, and in the process, set yet another record by surpassing a Brazilian legend in Kaka.
With his sublime effort against Liverpool in the Champions League, the flamboyant winger has now climbed ahead of Kaka to become Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in the European competition. The goal happened to be Neymar’s 31st goal in the prestigious competition, one ahead of former AC Milan midfielder Kaka’s 30 goals throughout his stays with AC Milan and Real Madrid.
Admittedly, Neymar was heavily backed to break the record sooner rather than later (and indeed it was even mentioned as one of the daily football tips on the day of the Liverpool match) but it still comes as a surprise that Neymar has already taken the crown, especially given that some of the World’s best strikers have been Brazilian
Sitting in third place in the charts is Brazilian legend Rivaldo who is some way off with 27 goals during his stints with Barcelona and AC Milan.
In addition to his mouth-watering goalscoring numbers, Neymar has also registered 19 assists in the UEFA Champions League, which means he has now been involved in 50 goals in the 52 Champions League games he has featured.
The 26 year old scored with a sublime effort in the 37th minute against Liverpool, with PSG already one goal up after Juan Bernat put his team in front early on.
The skillful forward started and finished the goal sequence, which began with a perfectly weighed through ball to Kylian Mbappe down the left channel. Mbappe then squared a lovely pass onto the path of Edinson Cavani whose effort was kept away by Allison only for Neymar to bundle home the rebound for his 31st Champions League goal.
The goal is Neymar’s fourth in the competition this season, having netted a hat-trick against Red Star Belgrade in PSG’s second group stage match.