The Paris Saint-Germain forward has now jumped ahead of all his countrymen to become Brazil’s most prolific player in the European competition.
Neymar scored Paris Saint-Germain’s second goal against Liverpool on Wednesday and, in the process, set yet another record by surpassing a Brazilian legend.
With his goal, the PSG star moved past Kaka as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League.
The goal was Neymar’s 31st in the competition, one better than the 30 scored by Kaka throughout his stays with AC Milan and Real Madrid.
Sitting in third place is Brazilian legend Rivaldo, who scored 27 during stints with Barcelona and AC Milan.
31 – Neymar is now the best ?? goalscorer in the Champions League history.
Neymar : 31
Kaka : 30
Rivaldo : 27
Samba. pic.twitter.com/IOXnepZxrt
In addition to just the goalscoring numbers, Neymar has 19 career Champions League assists, giving him a hand in 50 goals in 52 Champions League games.
The 26-year-old scored in the 37th minute on Wednesday, with PSG already maintaining a 1-0 lead stemming from an early Juan Bernat finish.
The Brazilian started and finished the sequence, which began with a perfectly hit through ball to Kylian Mbappe down the left-hand side.
Mbappe squared a pass to Edinson Cavani, who saw his shot stopped by Alisson only for Neymar to fire home the rebound and double PSG’s advantage, though a James Milner penalty just before the break cut the lead in half.
The goal is Neymar’s fourth Champions League goal of the season, having scored a hat-trick against Red Star Belgrade in PSG’s second group stage match.
PSG went into Wednesday’s clash at the Parc des Princes knowing that anything less than a point would all but seal the end of their Champions League run.
(Goal)
