Barcelona's Raphinha hits back at Benfica insults after win - ESPN

Match winner Raphinha said Benfica insults sparked a scuffle in the tunnel after his stoppage-time goal earned Barcelona a remarkable 5-4 comeback win at the Estádio da Luz in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Raphinha's 96th-minute strike was just one part of a sensational ending in the pouring Lisbon rain, with Benfica coach Bruno Lage then dressing his players down on the pitch at full time after they had led 3-1 and 4-2.

The drama continued as the players headed down the tunnel, with Raphinha at the center of the commotion as both teams clashed.

«I'm someone who respects everyone,» Raphinha, who previously played for Benfica's rivals Sporting CP, told reporters after the game. «When I was leaving the pitch, people were insulting me. I returned the insults. I know I shouldn't. It got heated with the Benfica players… they preferred to insult me.

»I'm someone who doesn't let anything lie. I respect them if they respect me, but I don't shut up if they insult me. It's normal after an ending like that to a match."

A barely believable night had preceded those events, with Raphinha saying he's in the best form of his career after scoring twice as Barça made it six successive wins in the Champions League to book their passage directly to the round of 16.

Raphinha's winner was his eighth in Europe this season — only bettered by teammate Robert Lewandowski's nine — and took his tally in all competitions for the campaign to a career-high 22.

«I think I am in the best moment of my career, yes,» the Brazilian international added. «We knew it would be hard here, we knew how good they were, especially playing in front of their fans, their players individually and as a team, but what matters is that we knew to keep our focus during